Shooting Stars
by isnt-that-wizard
Summary: The Doctor has survive Trenzalore and now has a new regeneration cycle. Star is imagining someone or something is watching them and calling her. What is the Promise Land? and how will the Time Lords react to Clara's new boyfriend? Fifth in the Starlight Saga.
1. Deep breath

**Hi again! This is the fifth story of my Starlight Saga, featuring my oc, the Doctors daughter, Star.**

**She is currently in her 5th regeneration, a small girl with ginger hair and a full fringe with half clipped back with a bowtie from the 11th Doctor. she usually wears a white shirt with a black bowtie, a green corset, a purple skirt with teal boots and bright pink laces, with her dagger inside. I picture her to look similar to Bella Thorne. At the end of Written in the stars she was 618.**

**_"Italics"_ is Gallifreyan.**

**'Italics' is telepathic communication.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.**

"I got it!" Star reached for a lever, she had begun piloting them, everything going smoothly, or as smoothly as normal, then the Doctor had suddenly remembered how to pilot and taken over, and they ended up getting stuck in the mouth of a dinosaur. This is why he shouldn't even be allowed in the console room after regenerating, at least they didn't have to worry about getting burnt this time.

"No, I've got it!" the Doctor moved her hand away.

"You regenerated 5 minutes ago! Go take a nap!"

"Im fine!" he waved of her concern.

"You said that last time and got hit by a cricket bat and walked into a tree!"

"You also got hit by a cricket bat!"

"That…" she blinked, forgotten that, "was not my fault."

"Oh for gods sake!" Clara grumbled, pulling the lever herself, seeing both had their hands on the lever but neither pulling it. She sent them flying out of the dinosaur and onto the bank of the river Thames.

There was a knock at the door. "Hello?" a voice called, "exit the box and surrender for the glory of the Sontaran Empire."

"Is that Strax?" Clara wondered, remembering the potato dwarf from Victorian Yorkshire and other times.

The Doctor opened the door, "shush," he looked at Strax before closing the door again, leaving Strax confused before he opened the door again and peered out even further, "we were being chased by a giant dinosaur but I think we managed to give it the slip." he shut the door again.

"No Doctor," Clara began, they didn't get chased by the dinosaur, HE piloted them into the poor creature's mouth. Somehow they had ended up in prehistoric times, got stuck in the dinosaur, and then it seemed had now landed in Victorian time, she assumed with Strax being outside.

This time Star opened the door, "sorry," she grinned sheepishly, "He just needs a nap."

"Sleepy," the Doctor peeked out, squinting at Strax.

"Sir?" Strax eyed him.

"And now he names the dwarfs," Star rolled her eyes playfully, not that she was complaining, she loved Snow White, she'd worn of on him.

"Bashful," the Doctor advanced on poor Strax who slowly backed away, "dopey, grumpy!" he towered over the Sontaran when he noticed Vastra and Jenny staring, eyes wide at the pair of them. "Oh, you two. The green one," he pointed at Vastra and then Jenny, "and the not green one. Could be the other way round, I mustn't pre-judge. Oh, you remember the female little me," he pointed at Star.

"Little you." she pouted, "Is that all I am? Just a mini you?"

"No, of course not, you're my beautiful girl." He smiled softly at her, making her beam, "And you remember, er, thingy," he pointed as Clara as the woman stepped out, looking traumatised, "the, er, the not me one. The asking questions one. Names, not my area."

"Clara," Star reminded him.

"Might be Clara, might not be. It's a lottery."

"It is Clara!" Clara insisted.

"Well, I'm not ruling it out," he muttered when the T-Rex roared, "Oi! Big man! Shut it!" the Doctor shouted up to it, "oh! You've got a dinosaur too!"

"She's a girl," Star whispered to him.

"Big woman, sorry," the Doctor corrected himself, "what would I do without you."

"I dread to think," Clara muttered, if he can end up in a dinosaur with her there, she couldn't even imagine what trouble he got into on Trenzalore for 800 years without her.

"Now, please take a nap," Star tried to reason with him.

"You need to calm down," Clara agreed, slowly walking over.

He ignored them and continued calling up to the dinosaur, "I'm not flirting by the way. My daughter wouldn't be very happy with that."

"Is regeneration always like this?" Clara asked Star quietly.

"Normally with him." she nodded, "he doesn't handle it very well, usually side affects…or it might have gone wrong because it was a new cycle." She didn't know how the regeneration went when given a new cycle, never knew anyone he had been given one. No, she did, she knew the Master had been given many more than most should have been given, especially with his history.

"Wrong?!" the Doctor turned to the group as they watched him, "what's gone wrong? Have you regenerated?" he looked at Clara, "I remember you. You're Handles; you used to be a little...a little...robot head and now you...really let yourself go. Reduce the frequency," he turned to Vastra, "your sonic lanterns, turn them down, you're giving her a headache."

"Giving who a headache?" Jenny shook her head.

"My lady friend! That's just an expression by the way," he added, "don't get any ideas."

"How do you know?" Strax frowned.

"Come on, Clara," the Doctor turned to Strax, "you know that I speak dinosaur."

"That's Strax," Star told him.

"Im Clara," Clara stepped next to Strax.

"Well they're very similar heights," he looked between Strax and Clara. "Maybe they should we're labels "he squinted at them, "why are...why are you all doing that...why are you all going dark? Stop that."

"We're not going dark," Star said slowly, "you just need a rest."

"Very well. Everyone take 5," he proceeded to faint and hit the ground.

"Ooh that is gonna hurt later," Star winced as she knelt next to him, checking to make sure he was alright.

"What do we do now?" Clara demanded as she came to her side.

"I don't understand," Jenny frowned, "Who is he? Where's the Doctor?

"Right here," Clara whispered.

"Regeneration." Star informed them.

"Well then, here we go again," Vastra remarked.

~.~

That night Star and Vastra were in one of the guest bedrooms, trying to get the Doctor to go to sleep, but he refused, Star managed to trick him into getting into a long night shirt, but he was ranting about how bedrooms were pointless and the mirror in the room was furious.

It was stressful very stressful, no matter how they tried to reason with him, he didn't not like the idea of a room just for sleeping in.

He was also complaining about them developing faults because they sounded English while he was now Scottish, it was very annoying.

"Daddy," Star called, mimicking a Scottish accent, getting very irritated with him and actually thinking about killing him, "I haven't been sleeping well lately will you help me."

"Of course," he nodded, joining her on the bed.

"Will you go into my mind and send me to sleep?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Please."

"If that's want to want," he placed his fingers to her temples, about to send her to sleep, when she placed her fingers on his temples first, sending him to sleep before he had the chance.

"So slow, old man." She grinned.

"What now?" Clara asked as they tucked him in the bed, Jenny and Vastra leaving them some privacy.

"Let him rest."

"Will he be ok?"

"He will be just fine," Star assured her.

"Where did he get that face?" Clara wondered, "Why's it got lines on it, it's brand new. How can his hair be all grey, he only just got it."

"Regeneration," Star shrugged her off, "it's a lottery. We don't know where the faces come from. I've always wondered though."

There was a mournful roar from the dinosaur, "I am alone," the Doctor translated in his sleep, "the world which shook at my feet and the trees, and the sky, have gone, and I am alone now, alone."

"Are you translating?" Clara frowned, "is he translating?"

"The wind bites now, and the world is grey and I am alone. Can't see me. Doesn't see me. Can't see me."

"Who can't see it? I think all of London can see it."

"Boys?" Strax called, entering the room, "Madame Vastra is waiting."

Clara sighed, knowing Vastra was going to do that test thing on her, she could just recall her doing that on the Victorian echo, "Ok, whatever."

"I will convey you to her chamber. May I take you coat?"

"Not wearing a coat."

"What's all that?" he gestured to her clothes.

"Clothes."

"May I take your clothes?"

"Probably not."

They walked out the room, Star still at the window.

"Are you wearing a hat?" Strax asked.

"Its hair," Clara sighed.

"No, I think it's a hat, would you like me to check? Ma'am," Strax called to Star, seeing she hadn't followed them, "Madame's orders."

"I'm going to keep an eye on him, just to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Strax nodded, before turning and leading Clara off.

~.~

Star curled up on the corner of the bed; still awake as the Doctor slept...when he slowly stirred, sniffing.

He sat up in bed, sniffing deeply, looking around the room as Star sat up, just watching him, knowing it was better to let him do his own thing.

He threw over the covers and scrambled around on his hands and knees, reaching underneath the dresser and pulling out a stick of chalk, grinning.

Star watched as the Doctor wrote calculations on the walls and floor, covering every surface.

They looked out the window as the dinosaur roared.

The Doctor stood up, and dashing to the door, opening it, "door! Boring! Not me!" he ran to the window and looked out, looking down at the three story drop and the drainpipe to the window. "Me!" he grinned, looking back at Star, "stay here."

"No!" she argued, "im coming with you."

"No. Stay here."

"Please," she pouted, giving him her puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, fine," he gave in. He REALLY needed to stop giving in to the face, maybe she hypnotised everyone?

He climbed out of the window with Star following before running along the rooftops towards the river, shouting, "Oi. Oi. Oi, big, woman. Oi. Sorry. Sorry, it's all my fault. My time machine…"

"Our time machine," Star corrected.

"Yes, our time machine got stuck in your throat. It happens. We brought you along by accident. That's mostly how we meet companions, but don't worry; I promise we will get you home. I swear. Whatever it takes, I will keep you safe. You will be at home again."

"No!" Star cried as the dinosaur suddenly burst into flames.

"Stop that," the Doctor breathed, "who's doing that? No, don't do that."

He leapt off the roof and down not a tree, getting stuck upside down, "Argh! Argh! Oh. Star, don't copy me." He called up to her.

"Wasn't going too," she laughed as he hung by his knees, "I can do this." She teleported down to the base of the tree as a man came trotting along on a horse and carriage, "hey, there." She grinned, "Can we retrieve you of your pet?"

"You're what?" the man blinked at her.  
"Shut up, she was talking to the horse." The Doctor grumbled, flipping down off the tree and onto the horses back. Star jumped on behind him as he used the sonic to release the horse's chains. "Forwards."

The horse galloped forwards, with the Doctor and Star riding.

"Left!" the Doctor called.

"No, right!" Star corrected.

"Sorry, new hands, can't tell them apart."

"That's why I'm here."

"Watch it on the corners," the Doctor warned as they galloped, "it's a bit slippery up here!"

They came to a halt on Westminster bridge, both jumping off the horse and looked down at the burnt dinosaur from the bridge wall.

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor whispered, "I'm sorry, sorry, sorry."

Vastra's carriage arrived, and the group stepped out.

"What are you doing here?" Clara asked Star.

Vastra pulled her pin from her hat and used it to lock the carriage, "there is trouble, where else would they be?"

"She was scared," the Doctor whispered, neither Time Lords looking back, "she was scared and alone."

"We brought her here." Star stated.

"Look what I did."

"What we did."

"Who, what could have done this thing?" Vasta called.

"No, that is not the question." The Doctor shook his head, "That is not where we start."

"The question is how," Strax corrected, "the flesh itself has been combusted."

"Shut up!" the Doctor turned to him. "What do you all have for brains? Pudding? Look at you, why can't we get a decent species? Planet of the pudding brains!"

"Doctor...Star..." Clara slowly approached them, "I know you're both upset. But you need to calm down and talk to us. What is the question?"

"A dinosaur half bury down half of London, nothing left but smoke and flames," the Doctor looked down at Clara, "the question is...has there been any similar matters?"

There was a moment of silent as they thought, before Vastra spoke up, "yes. By the goddess there have."

"Look at them all…" Star shook her head at the humans, "just…gawking!"

"Question two." the Doctor continued, "if all the pudding brains are gawking," he pointed, "then what is he?" he pointed at a tall thin man, hiding in the shadows.

"He does seem remarkably unmoved by the available spectacle," Vastra frowned, watching him leave.

"Do you think that's whoever..." Clara began...but the Doctor had jumped off the bridge and into the river.

"Um…" Star glanced between the river where the Doctor jumped and Clara, debating whether to follow the Doctor or stay with Clara, before jumping back of the ledge to Clara side, not daring to leave Clara alone. The Doctor will survive the night in Victorian London alone…hopefully.

"What's he doing?" Clara cried, "He'll drown!"

"Don't be silly, Clara."

"What?"

She merely shrugged, "Do you really think he'd die and regenerate by drowning."

"You did."

Star opened her mouth and closed it again, "that was because of a green singing shark in an evening gown."

"Im not even going to ask." Clara shook her head.

"There has been a murder and the Doctor has taken case," Vastra agreed, "If we are to see him again, we must do the same."

~.~

The next morning Star was outside the house with Strax, getting a few workmen to help bring the TARDIS over from the cart where they had brought the old girl over from the bank. She had borrowed the same purple dress from Jenny as she had last time, her hair up in a fashionable bun for the times, regretfully Strax and been the one to do it for her, he had pulled her hair to tight, it was beginning to give her a head ache.

"Come on, Earthling scum!" Strax called, "position it here. That's it. Careful..."

"Don't get a single scratch in her," Star warned.

"Star?" Clara called down from the room they had given her to sleep in.

"Oh, hello Clara, sorry, did we wake you?" she asked.

"I was already awake. You got the TARDIS then?"

"Military tactics." Strax said, "The Doctor is still missing, but he will always come looking for his box. By bringing it here, he will be lured from the dangers of London to this place of safety, and we will melt him with acid."

"...that last part?" Clara blinked, wondering if she had heard that as Star didn't seem at all fazed by the remark.

"And we will not melt him with acid. Old habits." he pulled out a rolled up paper from under his arm, "the Times. Shall I send it up?"

"Yeah, why not?" she shrugged.

He threw the paper up, hitting Clara in the face.

"Ouch," Star winced, "you alright Clara?"

"Fine." The woman called back, "yeah! Im ok."

Star sat at the kitchen table as Strax washed the floor, he had tried to give her her mandatory medical examination but she had reassured him that she was in fit condition and there was really no need, they would know straight away if something was wrong with her.

"Ah, Miss Clara!" Strax looked up as Clara entered, wearing her own period style dress, "you look better now you're up."

"Thank you, Strax," she smiled.

"No, sorry, trick of the light. You still look terrible. Can I get you anything?"

Clara took a seat at the table next to Star, "Er, no, thanks. Maybe just some water."

"I wouldn't," Star murmured.

"Wouldn't what?" Clara turned to her.

And got her answer when Strax placed his bucket of dirty water on the table in front of her, "well, don't hold back, I've nearly finished anyway."

"Um..." she eyed the water.

"It's perfectly alright. I washed in it myself."

"All of a suddenly, I'm not very thirsty."

"Really? Perhaps it is time, then," he went into a draw and pulled out a high-tech multifunction device, "for you mandatory medical examination! Say ah!"

"Ah." she opened her mouth as Strax looked at her eye through the lens.

"You didn't move your lips."

"You're looking at her eye," Star pointed out.

"Oh, yes," he nodded, "there we go, easy mistake. Now that's interesting."

"What's interesting?" Clara asked.

"Deflected narcissism, trades of passive aggressive and a lot of muscular young men doing sport."

"What are you looking at?" Clara frowned.

"Your subconscious. Is that sport? It could be sport."

"Well, stop looking," Clara moved the device away.

Strax changed the lens, "Ah. Excellent. Enviable spleen, well done. 27 years old with a projected life-span of exactly..."

"Stop right there!" Clara cut him off; she didn't want to know when she died.

"Oh, you're going to do quite well. But watch out for fluid retention later, it's going to be spectacular. Put your clothes back on."

"They are on."

"Oh," he looked over the device, "so they are."

Clara moved the device away, "why are you doing that?" she asked.

"If we are to serve together," Strax replied, "I need you at peak physical progress." he playfully pinched her arm.

"Why would we be serving together?" Clara shook her head, "the Doctor will come back, won't he?"

"It is to be hoped."

"Clara, he'll come back. He wouldn't leave us here." Star reassured her.

~.~

Clara burst into Vastra chambers as the lizard worked, with Jenny posing, she dragged Star in with her, she had found something in the newspaper and was very happy.

"Madame Vastra!" Clara called.

"Clara, Star excellent." Vastra smiled, "pop your clothes on that chair."

"Look." she showed Vastra the Times newspaper.

"Advertisements yes," she nodded, "so many. It's a distressing modern trend."

"No, look. Look." she tapped on the paper, one advert said 'Impossible girl. Lunch on the other side'.

"Ma'am?" Jenny frowned.

"The game is afoot. We're going to need a lot of tea." Vastra walked over to a bell on the wall and rang it.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Star looked at Jenny, as the woman stood in a corset, "and posing."

"She was meant to be painting me." Jenny said, mock-glaring at Vastra.

Star looked between Vastra's board on a map of London with the places there had been spontaneous combustion accidents and Jenny. "But you make the room look so bright." Vastra hissed at her, "oh, don't worry she's still all yours. I don't go for married girls."

~.~

Vastra finished looking through the newspaper, trying to see if anything else related to the advert of impossible girl. "There appears to be nothing of significance in the rest of the newspaper. Not even in the agony column."

"We can't know it's from the Doctor." Jenny countered.

"Of course it's from the Doctor," Clara argued, "the Impossible Girl, that what he calls me."

"Give me," Star grabbed the paper from Vastra and looked at it, actually properly looking at it. Earlier when Clara had showed her it she only got a glimpse before the woman had dragged her to show Vastra.

"It doesn't make sense," Clara shook her head; "he doesn't do puzzles. He isn't complicated. Really doesn't have the attention span." Or at least he didn't, this would take time getting used to the new him, thank god she still had Star, she didn't know how she would cope if it was just her by herself having to deal with him regenerating.

"It really isn't his style or mine. It's someone else's," Star muttered, squinting at the advert, turning the page over to see the advert directly behind it, 'Mancini's Family Restaurant, the Best Dinner in London.'

"Ha ha!" She cheered, "Clara, how do you feel about lunch?"

~.~

Clara and Star walked into Mancini's restaurant and sat down at one of the tables, sitting at small booth with two chairs on the other side of the table. Clara read the advert again, sniffing when she heard Star coughing and gagging, she looked over to see the Doctor had slid into the booth next to Star, and was patting her back as the girl coughed.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"It stinks," Star stated bluntly.

"I know, it's everywhere."

"Where did you get that coat?" Clara demanded, waving the menu around, trying to waft of the smell. She dreaded to think of what he had done last night and this morning. Alone.

"Er, ahem, I brought it."

"From where?"

"Er, a shop?"

"You mean a tramp don't you, dad?" Star guessed.

"Might have been, yeah," he admitted.

"How? What did you swap?"

"I had a watch."

"I loved that watch." Clara sighed.

"It was my favourite."

"You swapped your favourite watch, for that coat," she shook her head, "that's maybe not a good deal."

"Well, I was in a hurry. There was a terrible smell."

"Ok," the Doctor smiled and let out a small laugh but Clara shook her head, "no. No don't. Don't. Don't. Don't smile. I will smile first and then you know it's safe to smile."

"Are you cross with me?"

"I am not cross. But if I was cross it would be your fault and..."

"She's cross with you." Star stated.

"I guessed that." He nodded.

"I am extremely cross," Clara corrected.

"Would you be cross if I hadn't changed my face?" he asked.

Star winced at that, "this is Clara, we're talking about. Knowing her she'd be cross even if she wasn't cross."

"Hey!" the woman cried.

The Doctor nodded in his agreement, "no, that's true."

Clara let out a breath, "An ordinary person wants to meet someone they know very well for lunch, what do the do?" he shrugged, "you don't know?"

"I haven't done it in a while." He murmured.

Clara winced, realising what that meant. Star was the person who contacted people, and he had spent 800 years without her.

"You'd call and arrange to meet." Star said.

"So what kind of cryptic person would put a note in a newspaper advert?"

"Well..."

"Not you. Him," she nodded to the Doctor, "do say."

"I would say," he began, "that that person was an egomaniac, needy, game player."

Clara sighed, "thank you," she chuckled, "at least that hasn't changed."

"I don't suppose it ever will."

"I don't suppose it ever will either."

He placed his hands on Clara's, "but Clara honestly, I, WE, don't want you to change. It was no bother really. I saw your advert, I figured it out, happy to play your game..."

"No," Clara stuttered, "no, I didn't place the ad. You placed that advert."

"No, I didn't."

"You placed the ad, Star figured it out." she set the paper on the table, "see, look, impossible girl: lunch."

"Exactly," the Doctor nodded, "a message from the Impossible Girl."

"For the impossible girl." Clara corrected.

"If you're both done with your banter," Star cut in, "who placed the ad?"

"Hang on," Clara leaned to the Doctor as he looked at the other tables, "egomaniac, needy, game player."

"Could be a trap," the Doctor mumbled.

"That was me?!"

"Never mind that."

"Clara," Star slapped her hand over the woman mouth, "this is more important than your egomaniac."

"Nothing is more important than my egomaniac," she hissed.

"Did you just say that?"

"You never mention that again, either of you."

"Or what?" she teased.

"It's a vanity trap," the Doctor realised, "you're so busy congratulating yourself in solving the puzzle; you didn't notice you're sticking your head in a noose."

"She didn't even solve it, I did," Star told him, "she just found the ad in the paper."

"What are you doing?" Clara eyed the Doctor as he plucked out a single hair, "that's not the only grey one, if you're having a cull."

"Do you have a problem with the grey ones?" he demanded, holding the hair and dropping it to the floor, watching it.

"If I got new hair and it was grey I'd have a problem."

"Oh, I bet you would."

"Meaning?"

"Too short," he murmured.

He reached to pluck a piece of Stars hair but hesitated, "may I?" he asked.

She plucked a piece herself, rubbing her head, "there. That long enough for you?"

"Perfect," he nodded, dropping the hair and watched it fall to the floor. "I'm trying to measure the air disturbance in the room."

"Right, moments when you know you're boring..." Clara mumbled.

The Doctor leaned in closer, whispering urgently, "there is something extremely wrong with everybody else in this room."

"Basically, don't you always think that?" she scoffed.

"Look at them," Clara turned to look, "don't look."

"You just said to look."

"Look without looking."

Clara looked at the other people through the corner of her eye, "they look fine to me. They're just eating."

"I don't think they are." Star frowned.

Clara looked again, closer this time, and saw one person eating soup, raising the spoon but not touching it. "Ok. No they're not."

"Something else they're not doing," the Doctor whispered, dropping another hair, "breathing."

"What do we do?"

"Do you still want to eat?" Star asked.

"Slightly lost my appetite," she admitted, "how long before they notice that were different."

"Not long," the Doctor replied.

"Anything we can do?"

"How long can you hold your breath?" Star eyed her.

"We can casually stroll out of here," Clara suggested, "like we've changed our minds."

"Happens all the time," the Doctor agreed.

"Course it does."

The three of them stood up. The other diners also stood. They stepped forwards, only for the diners to step closer to them.

"We could take another look at the menu," Clara offered, they sat back down and the diners sat back in their seats. "What are they?"

"I don't know." the Doctor said, "but don't worry, because that's not the question. The question is; what is this restaurant?"

"Ok, what is this restaurant?"

"I don't know."

They looked at the menu when a waiter appeared.

"Er, no, sausages?" the Doctor clicked his tongue, "And there's no pictures either. Do you have a children's menu? I think Star would need the children's menu, she's a really fussy eater" the waiter shone a green light in the Doctors eye with the top of his pen, "any specials?"

"Liver," the waiter stated, voice too flat to be normal.

"I hate liver." Star grumbled.

"Spleen. Brain stem. Eyes."

"Mmm, is there a lot of demand for those?" Clara looked up.

"Yeah," Star let out a breath, "I think we're the menu."

"Lungs," the waiter continued, "skin."

"Excuse me," the Doctor leaned behind the man and teared of his face to reveal it was a robot.

"Ok, robot in a mask," Clara breathed.

"It's a face." He past it to her.

"Yeah, very convincing." She poked it with her fork.

"No, it's a face."

"Yes," the robot called.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, we have a children's menu." the waiter pressed a button on its pen and steel band slammed around the trips chest, clamping them to the chair as the booth slowly descended through the floor.

"You got to admire their efficiency," the Doctor remarked.

"Is it ok if I don't?" Clara countered.

The booth stopped and they found themselves in an old alien spaceship of the sorts. In the middle of the room was a dais with a chair facing away from them, with a tall figure sitting in it, a top hat on its head.

"Hello?" Star shouted, "Oi! I demand to speak to the manager!"

"This is not a real restaurant, is it?" Clara guessed.

"No, I don't think it is."

"Well," the Doctor looked up, "is more of a sort of...automated organ collection station for the unwary diner. Sweeney Todd without the pies."

"So, where are we now?" Clara inquired.

"Factually an ancient spaceship been buried for centuries. Functionally, a larder."

"Why hasn't someone come for us?"

"We're alive," the Doctor stated.

"We're alive in a larder."

"Cheaper than freezing us."

"...ok."

The Doctor twisted, shaking the sonic out of his coat. "Are you ready?" the sonic peeked out.

"Yep," Star nodded.

He shrugged the sonic out of the coat and Star flashed her eyes, levitating it, dropping it on his lap, next to his hands.

He used the sonic, unclamping the bands around them, they quickly stood up.

"You should make that thing voice-activated," Clara commented, when he paused, "oh for gods' sake it is, isn't it?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," he waved her off.

"You made your sonic screwdriver voice activated but didn't make me one?" Star pouted.

"Do you really need one?" he countered.

"No. But I want one."

"Doctor. Star." Clara pointed to the various gaps in the walled around the room, each with Victorian people standing motionless within.

"Dormant," the Doctor stated.

"How do you know?"

"I don't, I'm just hoping."

"So is it these guys that killed the dinosaur?"

"If they're harvesting organs, a dinosaur would have great stuff," Star reasoned

"Why would robots steal organs? Burke and Hare from space?"

"Maybe." the Doctor nodded, "that's a good theory. Droids harvesting spare parts. Rings a bell!"

They walked around the centre dais, looking at the figure in the chair. An ordinary human face with greying hair. A ragged tear over one of the eyes, showing the hollowing inside.

"Captain, my captain," the Doctor murmured.

"Can he see us?" Clara asked quietly.

"Dormant."

"Hoping?"

"Yep." he examined the half-face man, "ah, look!" he pointed to a cable from under the clothing plugged into a socket on the chair, "re-charging. He's asleep, doesn't even know we're here."

"Are you sure?" Clara asked, hesitantly.

"Sure, not sure, one or the other."

"So. Half man, half robot. A cyborg, yeah."

"Oh!" Star blinked, "look at the hands," she nodded to the hands as they were set in the chairs arms.

"What about them?" Clara shook her head.

"Look. Can't you see?"

The Doctor picked up the hands, setting them next to each other, showing they were different, "they don't match. These hands don't belong to the same body."

"I don't understand."

"This is not your ordinary cyborg," the Doctor explained, "This isn't a man turning himself into a robot. It's a robot turning itself into a man, piece by piece."

"That's what the restaurants for?"

"It'll need a constant supply of spare parts. The skin, organs, it looks roman. Wonder how long it's been around. Not much of the original is even left. The eyeballs look fresh though."

They jumped back as the robot moved its hand back to where they were originally.

"I think it's waking up," Star remarked, "we should go." they crept off and through a door leading to a bright corridor only from the Doctor to do a double take as entered the room again.

"I've seen this before," he murmured, "I'm missing something!" he slapped his head, "It's the brand new head, rebooting!"

"Come on!" Clara urged from the door way.

"I've seen this before."

"Hurry up!" Clara came back to his side, pushing him out the door, "get out."

But just before she got through the door slammed shut, blocking her exit.

The Doctor and Star in the corridor with Clara trapped in the room.

"Doctor!" she hissed through the small metal gating on the door, "Star!"

The Doctor quickly soniced the door, lifting it an inch of the floor, only to stop, seeing the robot slowly waking up.

"There's no point in it catching all of us," he told Clara.

"Well, gimme the screwdriver," Clara replied.

"And if we need it?" he countered and closed the door again, running down the corridor.

"Dad!" Star cried, "Im sorry." She told Clara, running after him, "hey!"

"Come on." He took her hand, pulling her off, but she pulled her hand out of his grip.

"No! We can't just leave her back there!"

"Nova. Don't worry, I have a plan."

"But, Clara…"

"Yes, Clara. Now come on." He ran off again, leaving Star little choice but to follow. If they didn't go back to Clara, she would kill him.

~.~

They ran back to Vastra's house only for the trio to meet them half way. The Doctors plan was to get the TARDIS and get Clara out but since they didn't have time to waste going all the way back to the TARDIS they turned back to the restaurant with Vastra, Jenny and Strax, taking out the robots which were in the restaurant and waiting for the right time to get Clara. Knowing that the girl would be able to get the information needed from the droids.

Clara awoke, looking around the chamber, from when she had passed out by trying to escape. The droids surrounding her as the half-face man sat down on his chair looking at her, "where are the other two?" he demanded but Clara stayed quiet, looking around the room, still woozy from fainting, "where are the others? You will tell us, or you will be destroyed."

Clara blinked, slowly looking at him, "...what did you say?"

"You will tell us."

"Yeah, I know. Or what?"

"You will die."

Clara looked around the room, "go on then," she swallowed, thinking back to her first day of teaching, how she had threatened to throw the children out of school if they didn't quiet down, "do it! I'm not going to answer any of your questions. So you have to do it, you have to kill me. Threats don't work unless you deliver."

"...you will tell us where the other ones are..." the half-face man said.

"Nope".

"You will be destroyed."

"Destroy me then. And if you don't then, I'm not going to believe a single threat you make from now on," the half-face man stayed quiet, "of course if I'm dead, then I can't tell you where the other one's went then, you need to keep this place down here a secret, don't you? Never start with your final sanction. You've got nowhere to go but backwards."

"Humans feel pain." the half-face man stated.

"Bigger threat to smaller threat, see what I mean, backwards."

"The information can be extracted by means if your suffering."

"Are you trying to scare me, because I'm already bloody terrified of dying." Clara breathed heavily, "and I will endure a lot of pain for a very long time, before I give up the information that is keeping me alive. How long have you got?" The half-face man stood up, looking over Clara, the girl staying strong, "all you can offer me is my life, what you can't do is threaten it. You can negotiate."

The half-face man reached its right wrist with its left, detaching the hand to his arm, revealing a direly weapon.

A sob escaped Clara and she stepped back, "ok, ok, ok. Yes, yes, yes, I am crying. It's just because I'm very frightened of you. And if you know anything about human brings, you'll know that means you're in a lot of trouble."

The half-face man raised its arm, "we will not negotiate."

"You don't have a choice. Tell you what; I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

"We will not answer questions," he slowly advanced on her.

"We'll take turns, I'll go first. Why did you kill the dinosaur?"

"We will not answer..."

"Why did you kill the dinosaur?"

"WE WILL NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS!" the half-face man shouted.

"Then you might as well kill me, because I'm not talking again till you do," she looked away, her mouth shut.

The flames on the half-face mans weapon surged, ready to kill her...but lowered it's arm, "within the optic nerve of the dinosaur is material of use to our computer systems."

"You burned a whole dinosaur for a spare part?" Clara frowned, "no, hang on; you know what's in a dinosaurs optic nerve, which means you've seen them before."

"Where are the other ones?"

"How long have you been rebuilding yourselves? Look at the state of you! Is there any of the real you left? What's the point?"

The half-face man turned away; "we will reach the promised land." it muttered.

"The what," Clara blinked, "the promise land? What's that?"

"...where are the others?"

"I don't know." Clara whispered, "But I know where they will be. Where they will always be."

"Where are they?"

"Right here!" Star called, a drape of fabric falling down with two figures sliding one, Star closely followed by the Doctor.

"5 foot 1 and crying," The Doctor remarked, "never stood a chance."

The half-face man swung it's arm at the Doctor, "oh, stop it!" he moaned, jamming his sonic into the power dock on the chair, "this is your power source, and feeble through it is, I could use it to blow this whole room if I see one thing that I don't like, and that includes karaoke and mine so take no chances. And I'm talking to you, Star," he turned to her, "don't even think about doing karaoke!"

She pouted, "I thought you like my singing."

"Oh, fine, you can," he turned to Clara, "You're brilliant on adrenalin," and back to the half-face man, "you were out of your depth sir, never try to control the control freak."

"I am not a control freak!" Clara cried.

"Of course you're not." Star hugged her, knowing full well just how controlling Clara could be.

"Why are you here?" the half-face man asked.

"Why did you invite us?" the Doctor countered, the half-face man cocked its head, confused, "oh! I hate being wrong in public, could everybody forget that happened?"

"Never," Star shook her head.

"Say the word," the Doctor turned to her as the three stood next to each other.

"What word?" she asked, innocently.

"You know the word."

"Why can't you say it? It's your word."

"And now im giving you the word."

"Geronimo!" Star cheered.

Vastra and Jenny came spinning down through the ceiling on the fabric Star and the Doctor had slid down on, landing on the ground in leather cat suits, drawing out their swords.

"Remain still and lay down your weapons," Vastra called, "in the name if the British Empire!" There was a cry as Strax fell down behind them, "Strax!" she huffed, exaggerated.

Strax stood up, his own weapon at the ready, "sorry."

"Told you before," Jenny sighed, "take the stairs."

"Here comes the cavalry," Star rolled her eyes.

The half-face man turned to her and the Doctor, "I burned an ancient, beautiful creature for one inch of optic nerve. What do you think you can accomplish?"

"What do you?" the Doctor countered, "Vastra?"

"The establishment upstairs has been disabled with maximum prejudge," she told them, "and the authorities summoned."

"Hang on," Clara frowned, "she called the police? We never do that, we should start."

"You see?" the Doctor turned to the half-face man, "destroy us if you will, they're still going to close your restaurant. That was going to sound better."

"Then we will destroy you." the half-face man stated.

Swords shot out of the droids arms, raising them menacingly.

"No, you won't," Star said calmly.

"You are logical." the Doctor added, "You have restraint. You kill to survive, you're not a murderer."

"He's not a what?!" Clara called, "this is a slaughterhouse."

"And how does that make it different from any other restaurant? You weren't vegetarian the last time I checked." he called back to Clara. "This is over," he turned back to the half-face man. "Killing us wont change that. What would be the point?"

"To find the promised land." the half-face man answered.

"You're millions of years old. There is no promise land. Get over it!"

"I am in search of paradise."

"Yeah, we'll us too, we're not going to make it there either." they were slowly giving up hope on finding Gallifrey, they knew it was in a pocket universe, but they had no idea how to get it into this universe and stop everyone from attacking.

"I will." the half-face man declared, lashing his weapon arm at the Doctor sending him flying.

"Doctor!" Clara dashed to his side.

"I will leave in the escape capsule. Destroy where necessary." he ordered the droids.

"What escape capsule?" Vastra scoffed, as the droids advanced on them, "this ship is millions of years old, it'll never fly."

"It has been repaired."

"What with?" Clara inquired.

"You." he sat in the booth as it began to ascend, "your friend is intelligent. He will know better than to follow me."

"You don't know my dad," Star murmured, seeing the Doctor hanging onto the bottom of the booth, waving at them.

The droids approached the five of them as they huddled in the centre of the room.

"It is our intent to leave." Vastra remarked to the droids, "If it is your intent to stop us, perhaps we should get down to business." He raised her sword as the droids pulled out their weapons from their arms. "How many do you estimate, my dear?" she asked Jenny as they attacked the droids.

"More than upstairs, about 20…30?" Jenny shrugged, unable to she how many there actually was.

"The ones upstairs were mere decoys these are battle ready." She grinned, "I anticipate a challenge."

"Don't worry my boy, we will die in glory!" Strax told Clara as he stood next to her, the only person unable to attack the droids.

"Okay...Good" she swallowed, not wanting to die today even if it was in glory or not.

"I don't know about you Strax," Star murmured, kicking a droid back, "but I don't really feel like dying today."

No matter how hard they fought, the droids kept getting back up.

"Just stay dead!" Star cried, stabbing one in the chest.

"Hold your breath!" Clara shouted as the droids surrounded them, "they're stupid, everyone hold your breath!"

They all held their breath, the droids stopping their attack and lowered their weapons.

Star grabbed the sonic the Doctor had left and ducked under a droid, needing to get the door open, knowing Jenny and Clara couldn't hold their breath for much longer. Vastra and Strax could hold a little longer than them but not much.

As soon as she got the door open the droids all fell forwards, deactivated. They all took a deep breath, relaxing.

~.~

"You're sure he'd come back here?" Jenny asked as they walked through the courtyard where the TARDIS was parked.  
"There's no trace of him in the wreckage. They searched all Parliament Hill. Where else would he go?" Vastra reasoned, he must be here waiting for Star. Maybe he just wanted to freshen up before he and the girls left again.

They stopped at the courtyard seeing the TARDIS in the same place as she was that morning.

"Star?" Vastra smiled.  
"Yes!"

"Give him hell. He'll always need it."

"Of course." She saluted, dragging Clara into the TARDIS.

"You redecorated," Clara blinked. There was now a higher level, crammed with bookshelves; it was a lot darker but cosier now, more homely and less machine.

"Yes." The Doctor nodded from the upper level where he sat on an armchair his back to them.

"I like it." Star grinned.

"Not bad." Clara offered, she was used to the place being mechanical and spaceship-y, it was a very big change it a sort amount of time.

"Not completely entirely convinced myself. I think there should be more round things on the walls. I used to have lots of round things. I wonder where I put them. I'm the Doctor. I've lived for over two thousand years, and not all of them were good. I've made many mistakes, and it's about time that I did something about that. What do you think?" he spun around, showing his new clothes.

It was simple, smart and also casual. Black sturdy boots, dark blue trousers, a white shirt, and a dark blue coat with red lining.

"No tie?" Star pouted, she wasn't upset that he no longer wore a bowtie, she assumed he would with the regeneration having different tastes each time, just like her.

"I thought I wouldn't risk you trying to strangle me with one," he chuckled softly.

"I wouldn't strange you," she huffed, she wasn't THAT bad. She'd stab him.

Clara smiled at them both, "who put that advert in the paper?" she asked.

"Who gave you our number?" Star countered, it had been annoying her for a while, whoever it was, might have been the same person who sent the ad in the paper.

"What?" she blinked.

"A long time ago," the Doctor reminded her, "you were given a number for a computer helpline but you ended up phoning the TARDIS. Who gave you that number?"

"The woman. The woman in the shop."

"What woman?" Star stressed, "What did she look like?"

"Just…I don't know," she shrugged; this was months ago for her.

"Then there is a woman out there who is very keen that we stay together." The Doctor deadpanned as the TARDIS landed, "How do you feel on the subject?"

"Am I home?" Clara frowned.

"If you want to be."

She looked back at the Doctor, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But I don't think I know who you are any more." her phone began to ring.

"You better get that. Might be your boyfriend," Star teased.

"Shut up," she huffed, "I don't have a boyfriend." she stepped outside to answer the phone.

The Time Lords followed Clara outside as she spoke on the phone.

"Hello? Hello?"  
"It's me." The 11th Doctor rasped down the phone.  
"Yes, it's you. Who's this?"  
"It's me, Clara. The Doctor."  
"What do you mean, the Doctor?"

"I'm phoning you from Trenzalore."  
"I don't…"  
"From before I changed. I mean it's all still to happen for me. It's coming. Oh, it's a-coming. Not long now. I can feel it.  
"Why?" Clara asked, "Why would you do this?"  
"Because I think it's going to be a whopper, and I think you might be scared. And however scared you are, Clara, the man you are with right now, the man I hope you are with, believe me, he is more scared than anything you can imagine right now and he, he needs you. He has Star but he also needs you."

"So who is it?" Star called.

"Is that the Doctor?" the Doctor repeated the question the 11th Doctor just asked himself.

"Yes," Clara answered to both Doctors.

"He sounds old. Please tell me I didn't get old. Anything but old. I was young. Oh, is he grey?"

Clara gave a teary laugh at that. "Yes." she answered.

"Clara, please, hey, for me, help him. Go on. And don't be afraid. Goodbye, Clara. Miss ya."

"Well?" the Doctor demanded as the call ended, he and Star walking over.

"Well what?"

"He asked you a question. Will you help me?"

"You shouldn't have been listening."

"Clara!" Star placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, "that was him on the phone."

The Doctor looked at Clara, "you can't see me can you?" he asked her, needing to know the answer he was dreading, "you look at me and you can't see me. Have you any idea what that's like? I'm not in the phone, I'm right here. Standing in front of you. Please, just...see me!"

Clara looked at him a moment before smiling, "thank you."

"For what?" he frowned.

"Phoning." she pulled him into a hug.

"I...I...I'm not sure in a hugging person now," the Doctor admitted as he stood awkwardly as Clara hugged him.

"You're not a hugging person when you're daughter is the clingiest person in the universe," Clara laughed.

"Ok, im not a human hugger." He corrected, nothing would stop him hugging his Star.

"I still get hugs!" Star beamed.

"Of course you do."

She giggled as she joined the hug, both girls squeezing the Doctor tightly, "We're in Glasgow, by the way."

"You'll fit right in," Clara nudged the Doctor, "Scottish."

"Right," he nodded, "shall we er...do you want to go and get some coffee or chips or something. Or chips and coffee."

"Coffee," Clara laughed, "coffee would be great. You're buying."

"I don't have any money."

"You're fetching then."

"I don't do fetching," Star mumbled.

"Still not sure you get a vote."


	2. Into the Dalek

They had collected their coffees or more 2 coffees and a hot chocolate and were on their way back to Clara, a couple of weeks later. The Doctor wanted to spend a little more time with just the two of them since he had spent so long alone. The TARDIS picked up a distress signal from a ship under attack from the Daleks. They had picked up two people on the small ship until one of the lifes blinked out, dead.

So they materialised around the other pilot just seconds before the ship exploded.

"You might feel a bit sick," the Doctor remarked as the woman awoke, "please don't be."

"Where's my brother?" the woman demanded, jumping to her feet with a start.

"Hello. I'm the Doctor. This is my daughter, Star," he nodded to her as she waved, holding her hot chocolate in the other hand.

"He was right beside me, where's Kai? How did I get here?"

"We materialised a time capsule exactly round you and saved your life one second before your ship exploded, but do please keep crying." he set the coffees in the console.

"My brother just died!" the woman cried, her eyes prickling with tears.

"Im sorry," Star murmured, solemnly, "We were too late to save him."

"But please, put the gun down." the Doctor eyed it.

"Or what?"

"Or you might shoot us," the Doctor said, "and then where will you be?" he refused to let anyone harm Star even if it was just a threat, he outright refused, she may be able to defend herself, always had, but he didn't care he spent so long away from her on Trenzalore he refused to be away any longer.

"In charge of your vessel," the woman replied.

Star giggled, "You wouldn't even find the light switch before starving to death."

"Who are you?" the Doctor inquired.

"I'm Lieutenant Journey Blue of the Combined Galactic Resistance." she told them, "I demand you take me back to my command ship, the Aristotle, which is currently located..."

"No," the Doctor cut her off, "not like that."

"You will return me to my command ship which is currently positioned..."

"No, not, come, not like that, not like that, get it right!"

She hesitated, putting her weapon in her holster, "could you take me back to my ship. Please?"

"The Aristotle's the big fella parked in the asteroid belt, yeah?" he called as he and Star got to work at the controls.

"It's shielded."

"More or less." The Doctor mumbled.

~.~

They landed with a thump; they stepped out, the Doctor looking at Journey in half-amusement as she looked astonished they had gotten her there.

"Dry your eyes, Journey Blue," he told her, "crying is for civilians. It's how we communicate with you lot."

He strode out the TARDIS with Star and Journey following, looking back at the TARDIS to see it was just a police box, "it's smaller on the outside."

"No, she's bigger on the inside," Star corrected.

The Doctor looked around, "this isn't a battleship. Medical insignia, it's a hospital."

"We don't need hospitals now," a voice called from behind them. The turned to see a man in his 50's flanked with soldiers, "the Daleks don't leave any wounded. And we don't take any prisoners." the soldiers aimed at the Doctor and Star.

"We saved your friend," Star stated bluntly, eying the guns.

"That's true, sir," Journey nodded, "they did."

"Thank you," he looked at them coldly.

"You're welcome," the Doctor replied, "I wish we could've done more."

"Then you should have."

"Ok..."

"But...you did save Journey and for that I am personally grateful."

"Well..."

"However, the security on this base is absolute, do we're still going to kill you."

"Oh, it's a roller coaster with you, isn't it?" he rolled his eyes.

"Shoot them, bag them and throw them outside," the man ordered, stepping back as the soldiers raised the guns, aiming.

"No, stop..." Journey cut them off.

"I'm sorry, they could be duplicates."

"He's a doctor." the men lowered their guns as the Doctor and Star glanced at each other, bemused, "and we have a patient. Don't we, uncle?"

The man sighed but led them off.

"Why does a hospital need a doctor?" the Doctor wondered.

"The Aristotle wasn't always hidden," the man replied, "The Daleks got here before us."

"You don't like soldiers much, do you?" Journey guessed.

"You don't need to be liked," the Doctor said, "you've got all the guns."

They led them through a door marked 078 and into the lab. The Doctor noticed a large clear tube with two benches inside, "a moleculon nanoscaler."

"You know what is does then?" Journey looked at him.

"It miniaturises living matter," Star answered instead, "doesn't it?" she glanced at the Doctor, "it does, doesn't it? Im right, tell me im right. Of course im right im your daughter. I'm always right."

"You're right." He nodded, chuckling at how she could ramble at such little things. "You're always right."

She beamed, "What's the medical application, though? Do you shrink the surgeons so they can get inside the patients?"

"Exactly," the man, Journeys uncle, nodded.

"Fantastic idea for a movie," the Doctor had to admit, "terrible idea for a proctologist. Are you going to miniaturise us?"

"That would be…an experience." Star added.

"You're a doctor aren't you?" he led them further into the room and opened a pair of secured steel doors, opening them to reveal a battered Dalek chained up inside.

"No..." Star breathed, "You really can't put us in there."

"Doctor?" the Dalek called. "Doctor."

"How do you know who I am?" the Doctor demanded of the Dalek.

"It doesn't," Journeys uncle assured him, "we promised him medical assistance."

"Are you my doctor?" the Dalek asked.

"We found it floating in space," Journey explained.

"We thought it was deactivated," her uncle added, "so we tried to disassemble it."

Star kept her eyes on the Dalek, "you didn't realise it was a living creature."

"Not until it started screaming," Journey sighed.

"Help me," The Dalek begged.

"Why would I do that?" the Doctor frowned, "why would any living creature help you?"

"Daleks will die."

"Go and die then," Star snapped, "not our problem. We don't care."

"Daleks must be destroyed."

"Daleks must be destroyed," the Doctor turned away before he realised what the Dalek had said, "what did you say?"

"All Daleks must die. I will destroy all Daleks. Destroy the Daleks. Destroy the Daleks."

~.~

They'd quickly gone back to the TARDIS to get Clara, telling Journey's uncle that it was important that she came with them it had taken a while to get the man to just let them go, the man was sure that was just an excuse for them to run away and leave.

They materialised in a small cupboard in the school when Clara entered with a smile.

"Where the hell of you been?" Clara demanded as she turned to see them there, the Doctor holding out the coffees, her smile quickly fading.

"You sent us for coffee." the Doctor reminded her.

"3 weeks ago. In Glasgow."

"3 weeks. That's a long time."

"In Glasgow. That's dead in a ditch." She had carried on her life as a teacher, not bothered if they did ever come back. Of course, she was hoping they did but wasn't getting her hopes up. She wasn't going to live her life waiting for them to come back, they weren't her life, they were her family and sometimes you have to wait years until you see family again.

"Not our fault," Star defended, "we got distracted."

"By what?" Clara asked.

"I wanted to spend time with my daughter," the Doctor defended, "I went 800 years without her."

"Ok," Clara nodded, that was a pretty good excuse. This time.

"Now, come on." Star led them back into the TARDIS

"Why were you smiling?" the Doctor asked as they walked to the console.

"Was I? No, I wasn't," Clara denied.

"You were smiling at nothing. I'd almost say you were in love, but to be honest..."

"Honest?"

"You're not a young woman anymore."

"Yes, I am."

"Well, you don't look it," he argued.

"I do look it."

"She's only 27." Star informed him.

"Clara, Clara, Clara," the Doctor sighed, "Clara, Clara, Clara. I need something from you. I need the truth."

"Ok, right," Clara blinked, "what is it?" they both sat in the steps, "you're scared." she noticed.

"I'm terrified," he admitted.

"Of what?"

"The answer to my next question, which must be honest and cold and considered, without kindness or restraint, Clara, be my pal, and tell me, am I a good man?"

This took Clara by surprise, "I don't know."

He did leave her in an underground slaughter house surrounded by droids that could kill her, but then he still came back with help. Then he left her in Glasgow 3 weeks ago saying he went to get coffee, but she wasn't sure if he came back by choice or if Star dragged him back. She just…didn't know him well enough to say yes just yet.

"Neither do I," the Doctor sighed, getting up and joining Star at the console.

"To me your best man in the universe," Star told him, sincerely, "you're my role model."

Yeah, he has made mistakes and bad decisions in the past but so as everyone. But those mistakes can make you better. You can learn from those mistakes to make the universe a better place and that is exactly what he was doing.

"Hey," Clara called back, "no offence but I've got plans."

"We'll have you back in time for 'plans.'" Star reassured her, "your man won't even know you're gone."

"He's not my man. He's just a new co-worker I'm having a drink with. Get to know him more. That is all."

"I hope that is all. I don't like him."

"You don't even know him. Hold on" she blinked, "How did you know, anyway?"

Star spun the monitor around to show the four different parts of the schools, the cupboard they were parked in, the corridor outside, a classroom and the staffroom.

"You've been spying on me?" she gasped.

"No, no, no," she shook her head, "keeping an eye on you. Making sure you're free before we come and visit. You know, we don't need any of the kids seeing us appear."

"Oh…I suppose that's alright then. But my life is still my life and private."

"Yes boss," she mock-saluted making Clara shake her head.

"And...I need you," the Doctor looked at her.

"Right," she nodded, joining them at the console, "where are we going?"

"Into darkness," he pulled a lever sending them off.

~.~

"A good Dalek?" Clara asked in disbelieve as they had just told her everything that had happened on the Aristotle.

"There is no such thing." Star stated.

"That's a bit inflexible. Not like you. I'd almost say prejudiced."

"Do I pay you?" the Doctor sighed, looking at Clara, "I should give you a raise."

"You're not my boss, you're my family," Clara smiled at them.

"Come on," the Doctor set the TARDIS down and led them back to where the Dalek was.

"That was quick," Journey remarked.

"This is gun girl," the Doctor explained to Clara, "she's got a gun and she's a girl. This is a sort of boss one. Are you the same one as before?"

"Yes," the man said sternly.

"I think he's her uncle," Star added, "but I may have made that up to pass the time while we were talking. Although im sure she called him her uncle. You should call dad uncle as well, now I think about it."

"This is Clara," the Doctor nodded to her, "not our assistant, she's, some other word."

"Cousin," Star supplied as Clara replied with, "carer."

"Yeah," Star agreed, "that works too, she cares so we don't have too. Well, more dad doesn't have too. I care about those important to me, but no one else."

"Doctor," the Dalek called as they're entered its room again.

"Hello again," the Doctor greeted.

"Will you help me?"

"Will you?" Clara looked between them.

"A Dalek so damaged, it's turned good," the Doctor pondered, "morality as malfunction. How do we resist?"

"Daleks must die," the Dalek stated, "Daleks must die."

"So what do we do with a moral Dalek, then?" Clara wondered.

"We get inside its head," Star commented.

"How do you get inside a Daleks head?"

"You're a teacher; you should know what a metaphor is and what isn't. That isn't."

~.~

The Doctor, Star and Journey's uncle walked into the lab with the moleculon nanoscaler as Journey put on Clara's nanocontroller band on her wrist.

"What are those for?" the Doctor walked past the two extra soldiers who were coming with them into the Dalek, "I don't need armed babysitters."

"We're not your baby sitters," the woman said.

"We're here to shoot you dead if you turn out to be a Dalek spy," the man warned.

"Good, I hate babysitters." The Doctor grumbled.

"Ok, listen up," Journey called, "now, remember, do not hold your breath when the nanoscaler engages. You fell like you want to, but you must keep breathing normally during the miniaturisation process."

"Why?" Clara asked.

"Ever microwaved a lasagne without pricking the film on top?" the Doctor answered with a question of his own.

"It explodes."

"Don't be lasagne."

"Are you ok?" Star tilted her head at Clara. She knew the woman could still remember parts of her echo lifes, going inside a Dalek would bring back memories of Oswin.

She sucked in a breath, exhaling deeply, "We're going inside a Dalek." she slid into the nanoscaler sitting between the Doctor and Star as the other three sat opposite.

"Nanoscaler engaging," Journeys uncle called over the microphone, "in 5...4...3...2...nanoscaler engaging...now."

A pulsing noise filled the lab as a beam of light pulsed through the tank. And the group within slowly shrunk as the noise got louder. All breathing normally when the pod stopped shrinking.

"Nanoscaling in progress," the computer announced, "Nanoscaling complete."

"Nanoscaling successful." Morgan called, "everyone ok in there?"

"We all made it," Journey replied as one if the technicians picked up the pod with a pair of tweezers, "nobody popped."

"I can't believe this," Clara breathed, looking around the large room.

"No," the Doctor stared straight ahead, as they approached the Dalek, "neither can I."

"This is brilliant!" Star beamed. No one ever got to go inside a Dalek and to be miniaturised as well, it was just brilliant and a new experience and it was completely mad. "Well, no, it's bad; I mean it's a Dalek. We're actually going inside a Dalek, where no ones gone before. Amazing!"

"Only you would get excited about this." Clara shook her head at her.

"I get excited about everything."

The pod was entered into the Dalek's eyestalk and the Doctor reached out, the surface rippled.

"We'll be following you all the way," Journeys uncle called, "rescue one. Good luck all of you."

They walked through the Dalek's lens, the images distorting and bending as they went through.

"That was weird," Clara remarked as they entered the cortex tunnel.

"You've seen nothing yet," the Doctor murmured.

The Doctor and Star led the others down the corridor

"What are the lights?" Clara frowned seeing them along the sides.

"Visual impulses travelling towards the brain." Star answered her.

"Welcome to the most dangerous place in the universe," the Doctor introduced.

"Entering the cranial ledge now," Journey called into the comm. she walked around the corner, gun at the ready.

"Oh, my god," Clara looked over the ledge at the sight. Light and cables and circuits and mechanics built in the walls of a cylindrical chasm that falls away and far down.

"Behold, the belly of the beast," the Doctor muttered.

"It's..." she trailed, unsure what to make of it. It was a Dalek after all.

"It's different." Star offered.

"It's huge," the man joined them.

"No, Ross. We're tiny," the woman corrected.

"So how big is it?" Clara squinted a she looked into the darkness, "the living part, compared to us, right now?"

"You see those cables?" Star pointed to the huge cable, falling into the dark, "they're not all cables." some of the cables twitched, like tentacles.

"Does it know we're here?" the male soldier inquired.

"It invited us in," Journey reasoned.

"Now this is the cortex vault," the Doctor looked at the lights, "a supplementary electronic brain. Memory banks, but more than that. This is what keeps the Dalek pure."

"How are Daleks pure?" the woman soldier scoffed.

"Dalek mutants are born hating," Star shrugged, "this is what stokes the fire. Extinguished even the tiniest glimmer of kindness or compassion. Imagine the worse thing in the universe. This is it. You're looking at it. Evil refined as engineering."

"Doctor?" the Dalek called.

"Oh, hello, Rusty," he called up to the Dalek, "you don't mind if I call you Rusty? We're going to need to come down there with you. Medical examination, and all that."

"What are those tentacles and things?" the woman frowned at them.

"How close do we have to get in?" Journey wondered.

"Well, you know, we're never going to insert a thermometer from up here," the Doctor told them.

Ross looked at Journey who nodded and he fired a harpoon into the ledge.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, "no, no, no! Stop!"

"You idiot!" Star cried.

"We need a way down, only way." Journey countered.

"This is Dalek for god's sake, not a machine." The Doctor glared at her, "It's a living creature and you just hurt it. And you know what's coming."

"Oh, god," Clara's eyes widened as she realised.

"What?" the woman looked at her, "what is it?"

"Antibodies."

"Dalek antibodies." the Doctor nodded. Little round antibodies flew down the corridor towards them. "Nobody move. Any attempt to help him or attack those thing, will identify you as a secondary source of infection. Stay still!"

The antibodies opened to reveal large blue eyes, they surrounded Ross.

"But the Dalek wants us here," Clara frowned, "why is it attacking?"

"Can you control your antibodies?" Star countered.

"Ross, stay calm," Journey ordered him lightly, "we're going to get you out of this."

"Can you?" Clara glanced at the Doctor.

"Ross, swallow this," the Doctor throw him a small battery, he caught it.

"What is it?" he eyed it.

"Trust me."

Ross swallowed it, "now what?"

The antibodies aimed a bright light at him.

"Ross!" Journey yelled as the antibodies disintegrated the man.

"Oh, my god," Clara stared in horror, "what's it doing?"

The antibodies blue light turned red as they sucked up the remains of Ross.

"The hovering," the Doctor raised his sonic as the antibodies flew way, "gotcha."

"What did you give him?" Clara asked.

"Oh, just a spare power cell, but I can track down the radiation signature. I need to know where they dump the bodies."

"I thought you were saving him," Journey glared.

"It was him or us all," Star resorted, "which would you prefer? His sacrifice saved us all."

"Follow me and run," the Doctor called as the antibodies followed them. They stopped at a hole in the ledge, "they've dumped him in here. Organic refuse disposal. We need to get in there."

"Why?" Clara asked as Journey and the woman soldier shot at the antibodies.

"The antibodies won't give up until we're inside there. I'd rather go in alive than dead."

"You don't know where it goes."

"Yes I do. Away from here. Now in. In! In!" Clara jumped down in the hole. "Star! Down, now!" she jumped in after Clara, sliding down into a green splodgy liquid. Journey, the woman soldier and the Doctor quickly came down after her.

"Urg, what is this stuff!" Clara grimaced.

"People," Star stated, getting up onto the side and out of the liquid, "sometimes I regret wearing a skirt."

"The Daleks need protein," the Doctor extended, "occasionally, they harvest from their victims. This is a feeding tube."

"Is Ross here?" Journey asked.

"Yeah. Top layer, if you want to say a few words."

Journey shoved him against the wall, "a man has just died. You will not talk like that."

"A lot of people have died. Everything in here is dead and do you know why that's good?"

"There is nothing good about that."

"Nothing is alive in here," Star said calmly, her dagger against the woman's back, "this is the weakest point in Dalek security. Nobody guards the dead. And I'd thank you if you let go of your grip on my dad."

Journey let go of her grip on the Doctor who gave a short nod in thanks, "mortuaries and larders, always the easiest to break out of. Oh? I've lived a life tell Uncle Stupid that we're in. Ah ha! A bolt hole." the Doctor walked past Star as he unscrewed a large bolt with the sonic.

"He'll get us out of here," Clara told the other two, "they both will. The difficult part is not killing them before they can."

"Bolt hole. Actually, a hole for a bolt. Does nobody get that?"

"Keep that up and I will stab you," Star threatened lightly.

"Also there's the puns." Clara added.

"Watch it," the Doctor warned, "decontamination tubes are hot."

"Rescue one to mission control," Journey called into the comm. as they crawled through the tube.

"This is Blue; rescue one," Journeys uncle responded, "report."

"The Dalek has an internal defence mechanism. We've lost Ross."

"What kind of defence mechanism? That thing knows you're in there to help it."

"Yeah, well, who knows? It's a Dalek. We're going to continue the mission."

"Are you alright back there?" the Doctor called back, "it's a bit narrow, isn't it?"

"Any remarks about my hips will not be appreciated." Clara muttered.

"Your hips are fine. You're built like a man."

"Thanks." Clara grumbled, sarcastically.

"Ignore him." Star called back, "you're beautiful."

"Thank you, Star."

"Are you wearing a Geiger counter?" Star looked at the woman soldier as they left the tube.

"Standard battle equipment," she replied, "that's just low enough radiation."

"But stronger down here, for some reason." the Doctor mused, "gimme."

"Was that him?" Journeys uncle came in the comm. "how are they working out?"

"It's hard to say," Journey remarked, slightly bitterly, still mad that they had calmly killed Ross.

The Doctor swiped the large printed circuit boards in the walls with the Geiger counter, "I've got it. I know what's wrong with Rusty."

"Ok, that's good;" Clara nodded, "is that good?"

"Well, you know how I said this was the most dangerous place in the universe? I was wrong. It's way more dangerous than that."

"Colonel," Journey called, "We have radiation indicators red-lining in here. Could be that the Dalek is badly damaged than we thought."

"Copy that." He responded.

"Old Rusty here is suffering a trionic radiation leak," the Doctor remarked.

"It's poisoning the Dalek and us." Star added.

"Just as well we're here."

"Really?" Journey looked over at them, "Perhaps we should get out while we can. Why should we trust a Dalek? Why would it change?"

"Good question," the Doctor nodded, "Rusty? What changed you?"

"I saw beauty." Rusty stated.

"You saw what?"

"In the silence and the cold, I saw world burning."

"That's not beauty," Journey argued, "that's destruction."

"I saw...more."

"What did you see?" Star asked.

"The birth of a star." Rusty said.

"Stars are born everyday," the Doctor waved it off; "You've seen a million stars born. So what?"

"Daleks have destroyed a million stars." Rusty remarked.

"Oh, millions and million." the Doctor agreed, "trust me, I keep count."

"And yet, new stars are born."

"Every time."

"Resistance is futile."

"Resistance to what?" Star frowned.

"Life returns. Life prevails. Resistance is futile."

"So you saw a star bring born," the Doctor scoffed, "and you learned something. Oh, Dalek, do not be lying to me. Come on."

"Heading for the Trionic power cells, Colonel," Journey told her uncle on the comm.

"Radiation approving 200 rads," He responded. "Danger levels."

~.~

They entered the Trionic power cell, looking at a large circular area, pipes and cables spread out upwards.

"The heart of the Dalek," Star breathed.

"It's incredible," Clara looked around in amazement.

"Geiger counters of the scale," Journey noted, "looks like it's about to blow." bolts of lightning burst from the top of the cone.

"Good," the Doctor nodded.

"How is that good?"

"We work better under pressure," Star explained.

"Rusty, can you hear me?" the Doctor called to him.

"Doctor?"

"Rusty, we've found the damage, I'm sealing up the breach...in your power cell, he used the sonic to fix the crack on the cone, "no more radiation poisoning, good as new!" electricity cracked as the crack closed, "there. Job done."

"Is that that?" Clara blinked, "just like that?" she was excepting it to be harder than that. There is always something else to it than just simply using the sonic.

"An anti-climax once in a while is good for my hearts. Rusty? How do you feel, Rusty?" there was no answer, "Rusty?"

"The malfunction is corrected," Rusty stated.

"What happened?" Journey asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," the Doctor admitted.

Above, throughout Rusty, new lights lit up.

"He's waking up..." Star noted.

"Rusty? Come in. Talk to me! What's going on? Come on."

"The malfunction is corrected," Rusty stated, "all systems are functioning. Weapons charged."

"What? No! No!" the Doctor groaned, realising what had happened.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" Rusty cried and they all knew he was firing at Morgan and the others on the Aristotle.

"No, no, no!" Star moaned.

"The Daleks will be victorious! The rebels will be exterminated!"

"Colonel!" Journey yelled into her comm., "What's happening out there?"

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Dalek fleet! Communications open!"

"Doctor! What happened?" Clara turned to him.

"You see?" he replied, grim.

"See what?"

"Daleks don't turn good; it was the radiation affecting its brain. No good Dalek! No miracle."

"Let me get this straight," Journey gave up trying to contact the Aristotle, "we had a good Dalek and we made it bad again? That's all we've done?"

"There was never a good Dalek," the Doctor argued, "there was a broken Dalek and we repaired it."

"You were supposed to help us..."

"We gave it a shot, it didn't work out. It's a Dalek, what did you expect?"

"No more talking, you are done," she turned to Gretchen and pulling her to the aide, "ok, new objective. We are taking this Dalek down."

The Doctor looked at Clara to see her glaring at him, "what's that look for?"

"That's the look you get when I'm about to slap you!" she slapped him hard on the cheek.

"We're going to die in here and there's a tiny piece of you that's please. The Daleks are evil after all, everything makes sense, the Doctor is right!"

"Daleks are evil, irreversibly, that's what we just learned!"

"No! That is not what we just learned!" she turned her back on them.

He glanced at Star to see her rubbing her temples, eyes closed. "What's wrong?"

"Headache." She murmured.

"We need to position the charges for maximum effect," Journey instructed, "I'm scanning the architecture for..."

"One question." Clara cut in.

"No time."

"Why did we come here today? What was the point?" she turned to the Doctor, "you thought there was a good Dalek. What different would one good Dalek make?"

"All the difference in the universe," he shouted, "it is impossible!"

"Is that a fact?" Clara asked, "Is that really what we learned today? Think about it, is that what we learned?"

"Exterminate!" Rusty cried, "Exterminate!"

"Journey, what the hells happened?" Journeys uncle shouted over the comm. "that thing has set the Daleks on us...and it's locked us out of our defences. Journey, you're the Aristotle's only hope. I need you to destroy that Dalek."

"The rebels will be exterminated!" Rusty cried.

"Whatever it takes."

"Understood, colonel," Journey nodded.

"...I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me too."

And then the Doctor realised what Clara meant, what they had learned, "Clara Oswald do I really not pay you?"

"You couldn't afford me." she smiled.

"Whatever your doing to do, don't," he turned to Journey, "We can do better than destroy the Dalek."

"Are you out of your mind?" she shouted as she held a small bomb in her hands, ready to set it off.

"Well, I'm insane," Star offered, "so...yes. I suppose I am."

"But we're inside a Dalek," the Doctor said, "standing where we've never been, we cannot waste this chance, and it won't come again."

"What chance?" she shook her head, "I have my orders."

"Soldiers take orders."

"I'm a soldier."

"A Dalek is a better soldier than you will ever be, you can't win this way."

"Ah! So what do we do?"

"Something better."

~.~

The Doctor followed Star before helping Clara onto the ledge as Journey and Gretchen followed using giant screws as a ladder.

"The Dalek isn't just some angry blob in a Dalekanium tank," the Doctor explained, "if it was, the radiation would have turned it into a raging lunatic."

"It is a raging lunatic," Journey countered, "it's a Dalek."

"But for a moment it wasn't. The radiation allowed it to expand its consciousness, to consider things beyond its natural terms of reference. It became good. That's means a good Dalek is possible, that's what we learned to day, am I right, teacher?"

"Top of the class." Clara cheered.

"But now it's back to what it was," Journey reminded them.

"But what it saw, what it felt, is still there," Star pointed out.

"Yeah, not exactly seeing that."

"Not here. There!" the Doctor pointed up to the cortex vault.

"You mean in the cortex vault?" Journey frowned.

"The evil engineering?" Clara asked.

"Every memory recorded. Some of the suppress but all still intact." Star said. "If we show the Dalek the star being born again we can create that moment."

The Doctor turned to Clara, "you need to get up there, find that moment and reawaken it."

"Me?" Clara blinked as he stared at her.

"Us." Star corrected.

"No, Clara," the Doctor frowned.

"How?" the woman shook her head.

"I know," Star sang.

"How?"

"Not saying."

"Star…" the Doctor began, really not happy for them to be split up inside a Dalek.

"Don't you trust me?" she looked at him, pouting.

He sighed, knowing if he tried to keep her with him she would send it back on him, saying that he wanted her with him because he didn't trust her but he did, he trusted her more than he trusted himself.

He pointed a Clara, "Look after her."

"Of course," Clara promised, though it would more likely be Star looking after her.

"This is crazy." Journey looked at them in disbelieve, "There's no way we can get back to the top in time!"

"Yes there is," the woman aimed her gun, casting a look at the Doctor and Star.

"No, Gretchen," Journey shook her head, "it'll bring the anti-bodies down on us."

The woman looked at Clara, "tell me the truth. Are they mad or are they right?" Clara hesitated, "I've come this far, probably going to die anyway. Wouldn't mind something to do for the rest of my life. Are they mad or are they right?"

"...hand on my heart," Clara held a hand on her heart, "Star is completely insane but most days they're both."

She turned to the Time Lords, "one question then. Is this worth it?"

"If we can turn one Dalek, we can turn all of them," the Doctor replied, "we can save the future."

She made up her mind, "Gretchen Alison Carlisle. Do something good and name something after me."

The Doctor took her hand in his, "I will do something amazing, I promise."

"Damn well better." she fired upwards, the grabber hitting the Dalek.

"Gretchen no!" Journey yelled.

"They're coming!" Clara gasped, seeing the antibodies approaching, "they're coming!"

"Go!" Gretchen urged them on.

Journey looked at Gretchen one last time before turning to the girls, "grab hold of rope!" the three females held into the rope Gretchen fired to the ledge.

"Good luck," Gretchen told them as they whisked upwards on the rope.

The Doctor watched as they were whisked upwards, before hurrying off to talk to Rusty, ignoring Gretchen's screams as the antibodies approached her.

~.~

"So what do we do?" Journey asked as they walked down the Cranial Ledge.

"A thing!" Star cheered.

"So do you or do you not know what you are doing?"

"I know what im doing. Those lights are suppressed memories, one would be the star. Just need to turn it back on."

"What? Are you just going to change the bulbs?" Clara joked, gesturing to the switched off lights on the wall.

"More or less," Star nodded, pulling the section apart, "keep an eye out for antibodies." She crawled into the small compartment, wiggling through to get those lights turned back on.

"Star?" Clara called.

"Im in the cortex," she reported, banging on the dark lights, turning them back on.

"The lights back on."

"It's a brain. Brains work with electrical pathways linking up memories. The memories are turning back on."

"So there's no spare light bulbs then?" Journey asked relief in her voice as she spoke before panicking, "You'd better get a move on, there's company coming."

"If its antibodies. DO NOT FIRE!" Star yelled back, shuffling to the next dark lights, "Keep still."

"Please don't be too long, Star," Clara called.

"Im trying," she huffed, illuminating some more lights, "One more panel," she shuffled on some more to the next set of darken lights.

"Hurry up!" Journey yelled.

"Come on, you stupid pepper pot, show me a star." Star slammed her hand on the lights.

"You did it, Star!" Clara cheered, "The antibodies are going away!"

"I am good!" Star grinned, beginning to shuffle backwards, "Im coming back now."

~.~

The group stood next to Rusty, back in normal size and back on the Aristotle, the resizing process was a lot more simple and enjoyable than shrinking still wasn't completely comfortable.

"Journey."

"Uncle Morgan," she ran to hug him.

"I have transmitter a retreat signal," Rusty called, "the Daleks will believe the humans have initiated the ship's self destruct."

"What about you, Rusty?" Clara asked.

"I must go with them."

"Course you must," Star nodded, "you've unfinished work."

"Victory is yours, but it does not please you."

"You looked inside me and your saw hatred," the Doctor murmured, "that's not victory. Victory would have been a good Dalek."

"I am not a good Dalek. You two," he looked at the Doctor and Star, "are good Daleks." it turned to leave.

"Till the next time." he and Star headed through the door to Med Sec 07, heading back to the TARDIS, Clara quickly catching up with them and Journey running over as they reached the old girl.

"Doctor," Journey called, "take me with you."

"I think you're probably nice," the Doctor turned to her, "underneath it all, I think you're kind and you're definitely brave. I just wish you hadn't been a soldier." he turned and entered the TARDIS.

"Besides, we only take the best," Star added, "we have Clara." she turned and followed the Doctor.

Clara smiled sheepishly at Journey before entering the TARDIS.

Star rummaged through the drawers in the console, "where is it?" he mumbled to herself.

"What are you looking for?" Clara asked.

"Rory's first aid box. He left it here after we dealt with Solomon on the Silurian ship."

"Ok…well, im going to change." She headed off down to the wardrobe.

"Why do you need it?" the Doctor frowned.

"Headache."

"Still?"

"It's just a little one." She assured him, knowing how concerned he can get over the smallest thing. "Did we give it to River?" she paused in thought, "or Brian?"

"I think it's in the med bay." The Doctor told her, pulling the sonic out, scanning her.

"Don't scan me!" she called, running to the med bay. That first aid kit was very important to Rory and to her. He would be counting on her to keep it safe, knowing he would never get it back.

~.~

Clara ran back up the stairs, after changing her clothes, "how do I look?" she gestured to her outfit.

The Doctor didn't look up, "sort of short and roundish, but with a good personality which is the main thing."

"...I mean my clothes. I just changed."

"You look lovely," Star smiled, she had found Rory's kit in the med bay and had taken a small capsule to help with her headache. It was still there, like a small nagging small enough not to hurt but still annoying.

"Thank you, Star."

"Ok, right," the Doctor set them down was a soft thump, "we're back in your cupboard. 30 seconds after you left."

"When will I see you again?" she asked.

"Oh, soon, I expect. Or later. One of those."

Clara walked to the doors but turned around, "I don't know."

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor frowned at her.

"You asked me if you were a good man. And the answer is; I don't know. But I think you try to be. And I think that's probably the point."

The Doctor smiled at that, "I think you're probably an amazing teacher."

"I think I'd better be." she walked out.

"Do you think im a good girl?" Star asked as soon as Clara wouldn't hear.

"Of course you are," he frowned, not sure why she would even think that, "the best, the smartest, the most adorable. My shining star. Why do you say that?"

"I destroyed the most powerful object in existence; surely that shows im not such a good girl."

"You saved the planet." He reminded her.

"WE saved the planet." She corrected.

"If it wasn't for you, I would have Time Locked it."

Star didn't believe him when he called her a good girl. Good girls don't just destroy powerful weapons like the Moment and are not named the Predator of the Daleks.

**TheGirlWithHerHeadInABook1: He's your update :) I'm glad you like the story.**


	3. Robots of sherwood

"Take a punt!" the Doctor stood on the upper gallery of the console room, scribbling Gallifreyan equations on a board as Star watched, eating a yogurt. Honestly, she had no idea what he was actually doing; she had narrowed it down to two ideas. He was either trying to work out where Gallifrey may now be or how many seconds he had missed of her while he was stuck on Trenzalore. She guessed the latter.

"Right," Clara gave a short nod as she stood by the console.

"Your choice. Wherever. Whenever. Anywhere in space and time."

"Well," she began, "there is something. Someone I've always wanted to meet. But I know what you'll say."

He looked down at her, "try me."

"You'll say he's made up. That there's no such thing...it's Robin Hood!"

"Robin Hood?"

"I love that story. Always loved it. Ever since I was little."

Star finished her yogurt, setting the tub on the nearby shelf, handing the spoon to the Doctor who rolled his eyes and pocketed it as Star peered down at Clara, "Robin Hood the heroic outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor? In Disney's version was a fox?"

"Yeah," Clara giggled.

"There's no such thing." The Doctor stated.

"You see!" she cried.

"Old fashioned heroes only exist in old fashioned story book, Clara."

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You stop bad things happening. Every minute of everyday. That sounds pretty heroic to me."

"Just passing the time," the Doctor shrugged, "hey, what about Mars?" he turned the board over to show a drawing of a vast honeycombed structure, "the Ice Warrior Hives!"

"You said it was my choice," Clara reminded him.

"How about the Tumescent Arrows of the Half-light! Those girls can hold their drink!"

"Doctor..."

"...and fracture 15 different levels of reality simultaneously. I think I've got a Polaroid somewhere."

"Doctor!" Clara shouted, "My choice. Robin Hood. Show me."

"Very well," he shrugged, joining the girls at the console, "Earth," he flicked a switch, "England, Sherwood Forest. 1190AD. Ish." he flicked another switch, "but you'll only be disappointed."

"Robin Hood is a story," Star told her, "and that's it. Just a story."

"But yet you love the Disney version." Clara pointed out.

"That's animated animals. As much as I would love for him to be real, he isn't."

"When did you stop believing?"

"He's just a legend Clara."

"But don't legends come from somewhere."

Star blinked, that was a good point, "but not all legends are true."

~.~

The TARDIS materialised and the Doctor stepped out onto a bank with a stream with a log used as a bridge connecting the other bank, with Star behind him, the front pieces of her hair pulled back in two braids with the rest down loose, wearing a lovely deep purple renaissance gown; fitted at the top with the skirt flowing out with bell like long sleeves. It hadn't taken long for her to change, she had left Clara choosing between the many dressing in the wardrobe, the woman taking way too long for Star to patiently wait for her.

"No damsels in distress." The Doctor looked around, "No pretty castles. And no such thing as Robin Hood!"

Star jumped to the side suddenly, as an arrow came flying past, just missing her and hitting the TARDIS.

"Who called?" a voice called and they looked over to see a dashing young man standing on the other side of a bank, wearing a green tunic, feather hat and tights, his hands on his hips as he winked, and walked onto the log bridge, "Very, very nicely done with the box, my friend! I saw something of the sort performed by a Turk in Nottingham Fayre. A trick with mirrors, no doubt?"

"A trick?" the Doctor scoffed.

"A good jest."  
"It's not a trick!" Star shouted at him.

"Why are you dressed like that?" the Doctor eyed the man.

"Whatever it is, you bony rascal, I'm afraid I must relieve you of it." the man laughed, "Don't you know that all property if theft of Robin Hood?"

"You're not serious?" Star blinked at that. He couldn't be Robin Hood, he wasn't real. He couldn't be real.

"I am many things but never that. Robin Hood laughed in the face of it all. Ha, ha, ha!"

"Has anyone punched you in the face for doing that?" Star tilted her head at him.

"Not as yet."

"Then I'll be the first."

"Feisty young lady aren't you?"

"Thank you." she beamed at that.

"Ok, might be a little bit much but what do you reckon, Doctor…?" Clara came out of the TARDIS wearing a dress similar to Star but orangey-red with a thin belt around her waist, her hair was twisted back and she had a silver headdress on her forehead. "somebody," she shot Star a playful glare, "disappeared before I could get her opinion."

"By all the saints!" Robin Hood beamed, "are there any more in there?"

"Doctor," Clara smiled in delight spotting the man, "is that...?"

"No." the Doctor stated.

"Maybe," Star shrugged, actually starting to think it may be the real Robin Hood. These things, these impossible and unlikely things did happen.

"Oh my god, it is, isn't it?" Clara squealed, "You found him. You actually found Robin Hood."

"That is not Robin Hood!" the Doctor snapped.

"Well then who, sir, is about to relieve you of your magic box," Robin pulled out his sword.

"Nobody sir!" the Doctor jumped in the bridge, "not in this universe or the next!"

"Well then draw your sword and prove your words."

"I don't have a sword."

"Do you want my dagger?" Star offered.

"I don't need a sword or a dagger," he waved her off. Pulling out a gauntlet and putting in his hand, pulling out the spoon Star had eaten her yogurt with, "because I'm the Doctor. And this is my spoon. En garde!" the Doctor advanced to the middle of the bridge, ready to fight Robin Hood.

Robin laughed, slashing his sword to the Doctor spoon, who was actually rather brilliant at it.

"You're...amazing," Clara gaped, watching from the side, impressed with the Doctors skills, they were almost as good as Stars, she may get it from him.

"Where do you think Star gets it from?" he countered.

"Not you," Star giggled.

"I had some experience. Richard the Lionhearted...Cyrano de Bergerac...Errol Flynn. Had the most enormous ego."

"Takes one to know one," Clara smirked.

The Doctor hit Robin's sword and proceeded to trip the man up from behind sending him into the stream.

The Doctor flipped his spoon like a gunslinger and put it back in his pocket, "like I said. My box."

"Our box," Star corrected.

"Doctor...?" Clara looked into the water concerned, unable to see Robin anywhere, no air baubles, no...nothing. Until a hand reached out behind the Doctor, making him stumble and fall into the water.

Robin emerged into the bridge next to Star and Clara, hands on his hips, laughing as the Doctor dragged himself out of the water, fuming.

~.~

Robin led the Doctor, Star and Clara to his camp and introduced them to his Merry Men.

The Doctor stood scanning the greenery with his sonic as Robin introduced the girls to his men "let me introduce you to my men," a blond man in red stepped forwards, "This is Will Scarlet. A cheeky rogue with a good sword had and slippery tongue."

"My ladies," Will gave them both a small bow, before whirling around as the Doctor snipped of a lock of his hair, scanning it, "what do you want with my hair?"

The Doctor looked at the sonic's results and threw the lock away, "well its realistic, I'll give you that."

A portly monk with a tonsure stepped forwards, "Friar Tuck," Robin introduced, "aptly named for the quantity of grub he tucks into!"

"You skinny blackguard!" Friar laughed before tripping forwards as the Doctor grabbed his sandal, "what are you doing?"

"This isn't a real sandal!" he stated.

"Yes, it is."

He soniced it, "yes, it is!" he threw it away, frustrated.

Next a slightly fry man with a lute stepped forwards, "this is Alan-a-Dale," Robin continued, trying to ignore the Doctor, "a master of the lute and with the voice of an angel."

"Fair strangers you are welcome here, in Sherwood's bunny glare and..." Alan began to sing, "Ow!"

The Doctor had injected a small syringe into Alan's arm, "sorry, sorry, blood analysis, oh, all those diseases, if you were real, you'd be dead in 6 months."

"I am real."

"Bye."

Robin shook his head, gesturing to the large bearded man, "and this is John Little. Called Little John. My loyal companion in many an adventure."

A smaller man appeared form between the large mans legs, "Haha! Works every time!"

"I can't believe it's you." Clara gaped, "you really are Robin hood and his Merry Men!"

"Aye!" Robin grinned, "'Tis an apt description. What you say, lads?" they all cheered and roared with laugher.

"Stop laughing!" the Doctor scowled, "why are you always doing that? Are you all simple or something? I'm going to need a sample."

"Sorry about him. His minds going with his age." Star smiled sheepishly at Robin as she and Clara dragged the Doctor away.

"What are you doing?" Clara hissed.

"Well there not holograms," the Doctor replied, "that much is obvious. Could be a theme park from the future. Or maybe were inside a Mini-scope!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"A mini scope!" the Doctor stalked off, muttering to himself, "yes, could be a mini scope, why not." he turned to Star, her words just hitting him, "Oi! there is nothing wrong with my mind."

She stared at him, "it took you THAT long to realise what I had said."

"Your friend seems not quite of the real world," Robin walked over.

"No, not most of them time," Clara watched the Doctor walk off.

Star turned to Robin, "Dark days?"

"My Lady?"

"You said these were dark days. What did you mean?"

"King Richard is away on Crusade, my Lady, and his tyrant of a brother rules instead." Will explained.

"The phoney king of England," She smirked.

"And the Sheriff?" Clara asked, excited, "cos there is a Sheriff, right?"

"Aye," Alan nodded, "it is indeed this jackal of the Prince's who aims to oppress us for evermore."

"Or 6 months, in your case." the Doctor remarked as he passed, making Star laugh, "what time is it, Mr Hood?"

"Somewhat after noon..." he frowned.

"No, he means the season," Star told him.

"Dame Autumn has draped her mellow skirts about the forest, my Lady. The time of mists and harvest approaches..."

"Yes, yes," the Doctor snapped, not happy with how close Star was getting to him, as he wasn't real and he could end up hurting her…or more she'd end up hurting him in someway, as long as she wasn't hurt he didn't care, "all very poetic. Bit it's very green hereabouts, though, isn't it? And, like I said, very sunny."

"So?" Clara frowned.

"Have you ever been to Nottingham?"

"Climate change?"

"1190."

"Well, you must excuse me!" Robin cut in brightly, "the Sheriff has issued a proclamation. Tomorrow, there's to be a contest to fid the bed archer in the land! And the bounty: an arrow of pure gold!"

"No, no, don't go! It's a trap!" Clara warned.

"Of course it is! But I can never resist a challenge! A contest to find the best archer in the land?" he turned to the Merry Men, "why, there is no contest!" the men laughed.

"Yeah, the best archer is me," Star grinned, leaning on the Doctors chest.

"How are you sure he's not the real thing?" Clara asked as Robin and his men prepared for the contest.

"Because he can't be," the Doctor replied.

"When did you stop believing in everything?"

"When did to start believing in impossible heroes?"

"Don't you know?" Clara smiled at him; "in a way, that's rather sweet." she walked off.

~.~

The next day, the Doctor, Star and Clara stood in the castle's courtyard as Robin took part in the archer contest, him and his men in disguise, he used the name Tom the tinker and wore a big brown hat on his head and cloak covering his normal clothes.

In the final it was just Robin and the Sheriff. All the other contests now watching in the crowd with the rest of the villagers.

"Take your places!" the herald called.

Robin stepped forwards and he and the Sheriff sized each other up, "let us make this match a little more interesting, my Lord. Surely the targets are too close? What say you? Another 20 paces?"

"Why not?" the Sheriff shrugged.

The target was shifted back 20 more paces.

The Sheriff fired his arrow and hit the target first time, the crowd cheered. Robin stepped forwards, "now, tinker," the Sheriff smirked, "lets see your true face..."

Robin fired his arrow and split the Sheriff's arrow in two.

Clara applauded, the Sheriff scowled and Robin turned to wink at Clara.

"Ye Gads!" the herald announced, "He has split the arrow! Truly, he is the finest archer in all England! Come forward, tinker. And claim your prize."

Robin made to collect the arrow when the Doctor handed Star a bow and arrow, grinning as she fired it at the target, splitting Robins' arrow in half.

Everyone looked around to see Star standing there. Everyone gasped at seeing a young lady holding a bow and arrow and beaten Robin Hood.

"She's full of surprises, isn't she?" Little John remarked to the Merry Men.

Robin turned and glared as the Doctor smirked at her for showing Robin Hood up.

"I'm Star!" she grinned as everyone looked at her, "did I win?" The herald handed her the golden arrow but she threw it to the side, "I don't want that, I want something else."

"Name it," the Sheriff smiled at her.

"Enlightenment."

The Sheriff smiled at her when Robin fired another arrow, cutting Stars in two.

The crowd cheered as Robin grinned at her, not about to be showed up by a girl.

She narrowed her eyes, seeing Robin trying to challenge her. The Doctor handed her another arrow, smirking. Eyes locked on Robin she fired another arrow; it hit a knights shield and split Robin's arrow in two.

Again Robin split Stars in half.

"I can do this all day," she glared at him, firing another arrow and hitting the target before turning and nodding at the Doctor who aimed the sonic at the target, making it explode. He'd been working on that last night in the TARDIS as Star and Clara camped out with Robin and the Merry Men, Clara delighted to speak with them while Star stayed just to ensure she would be safe.

"Fascinating," the sheriff murmured before calling, "seize them."

The Doctor and Star smiled at each other as the knights clomped towards them. Clara dashed over, grabbing a pike staff, only for its weight to drag her down.

"What are you doing," the Doctor hissed, "put that down!"

"I'm fine!" she reassured him, "I take year 7 for after school Taekwando."

"Don't worry, Doctor, my Ladies!" Robin jumped in front of them, sword raised, "I'll save you!"

"We don't need saving!" the Doctor snapped.

"Your honour is safe!"

"I know it is!"

"For I am Robin!" he pulled of his 'disguise', "Robin Hood!"

The crowd went mental calling out his name as his sword hit a knight, chopping its arms off...only for it to spark and fizz.

The crowd gasped and fell silent.

"Robot!" the Doctor grinned, "now we're getting somewhere!"

The Sheriff scowled, taking out a small control device, "kill them!" he ordered, "Kill them now! Kill them all!" he pressed the buttons and the knights changed. Their helmets shifted to reveal blank faces with a gleaming purple light within, projecting a cross, aiming at the targets, they burst into flame as they were hit.

The herald dashed for cover but one of the knights aimed the light at him and he vanished in a blaze of fire.

Robin raised his sword again but the Doctor knocked it out of his hands, "he surrenders," the Doctor said.

The knights surrounded the four of them, all quickly raising their hands.

"Run, flee, lads, flee!" Robin shouted to the Merry Men, "live to fight another day!"

"Aye!" Friar nodded and they all ran off.

The Sheriff snapped his fingers, "to the dungeons with all of them!"

The knights hustled them away.

"What're you up to?" Clara whispered.

"Quickest way to did out anybody's plans, get yourself captured."

~.~

The Doctor, Star, Robin and Clara were manacled together in a dungeon. Robin next to the Doctor, Clara next to him and Star next to her.

"Splendid! Enchanted!" Robin grumbled. "Trussed up like turkey-cocks' thanks to your friend."

"Shut it, Hoodie," the Doctor glared at him, "I saved your life."

"I had the situation well in hand," he defended.

"Thin haired ninny versus killer robot knight, I know where I'd put my money."

"If you had not betrayed me, then I would have been triumphant."

"You'd have been a little puff of smoke and ashes!"

"Ha!"

"You'd have been floating around in tiny little laughing bits in people's goblets..."

"Balderdash! Ha!"

"Right here we go," the Doctor moaned, "it's laughing time!"

Robin gave a mocking laugh, "ha, ha, ha!"

"Guard!" the Doctor yelled, "he's laughing again! You can't lock me in here with a laughing person."

"Oh, that's funny too," Robin also yelled to the guard, "do you know I feel another laugh coming on! Ha, ha, ha!"

"Guard, I cannot remain in this cell! Execute me now!"

"You heard him, execute the old fool!"

"No, hang on, execute him!"

"I do not fear death, execute away!"

"Yeah, execute him! I want to see if his head keeps laughing when you chop it off."

"Robin Hood always laughs in the face of death!"

"Rolling round the floor laughing, I'd pay good money to see that! Guard!"

"SHUT UP! OR I WILL STRANGLE THE PAIR OF YOU AND I WILL ENJOY IT!" Star roared, breathing heavily in her anger from the men bantering and arguing.

They both fell silent.

"Do either of you understand, in anyway at all, that there isn't actually a guard out there?" Clara asked.

"Oh." the Doctor blinked.

"I did in fact", Robin stated.

"No, you didn't."

"I will kill you both!" Star threatened.

"How?" the Doctor looked at her.

"Remember Solomon?"

"You seem very angry today," the Doctor frowned at her, "why?"

"I have a headache and your banter is not helping."

"Again?" her headaches were getting worse she used to never get a headache or sick at all for that matter.

"I will murder you and I will keep on going until you stay dead."

"The Doctor and Robin Hood locked up in a cell," Clara began, "is this the best you can do? Are you both determined to starve to death in here, squabbling?"

"Well I'll tell you one thing," Robin remarked, "I'd last a lot longer than that desiccated man-crone."

"Really?" the Doctor scoffed, "well you know what, I think you'll find I have a certain genetic advantage..."

"Crying out loud!" Star screamed, "Just shut up. So you have a new cycle and more regeneration that does not make it a competition for who can die slower!"

"It would definitely be me, thought wouldn't it."

"Yes!"

She didn't know why he was actually so glad to have an entire new cycle, yes, it was great that there were more Doctors but it also meant that at this rate he would end up out living her. One day she'd run out of regenerations while he'll still have more. She really needed to be more careful, she will no longer be so easy to kill like from a Dalek or even worse like drowning. No, she would make it hard to die from now on.

"There's supposed to be a plan," Clara reminded them, "do any of you have a plan?"

"Yeah, of course I have," the Doctor nodded.

"I too have a plan," Robin called.

"Robin, plan." Star turned to him.

"Why him?" the Doctor asked.

"Saving the best plan til last."

"I am...biding my time," Robin offered.

"Thank you, Prince of Thieves," she rolled her eyes, "dad?"

"Can you explain your plan without using the words 'sonic screwdriver?' because you might have forgotten, the Sheriff of Nottingham, has taken your sonic screwdriver, just saying?" Clara added.

"I know," he huffed, "I know!"

"Your plan was basically the screwdriver wasn't it? It's always the screwdriver," she turned to star, "do you have a plan, last Time Lady?"

"Yes, and it's a brilliant plan," she answered promptly, "the plan is…"

They all looked to the door as they heard the key turn and the guard enter.

"You see, there was a guard," Robin cheered, "there was a guard listening the whole time, I knew it. Ha, ha, ha!"

"The Sheriff himself commanded me to listen," the guard told them, "to find out which of you is the true ringleader."

"Ah, so he can do the interrogating. Very wise," the Doctor commented.

"Excellent," Robin smiled, "he will get nothing from me!"

"No, he will get nothing from me; interrogation is always where I turn the tables," he turned to the girls, "that's my plan!"

Robin raised his manacles, "well, hurry up, take me to him."

"Chop chop..." the Doctor also raised his.

"Seriously?" Clara looked at them, pitifully.

"Sometimes I wonder how you're my dad," Star shook her head as the guard unlocked her. Of course it would be her, she looked the youngest and was the one to make the men fall silent and was about to say the plan.

"No!" the Doctor cried, reaching forwards at the guard led her off, "not her!"

"Good luck, Clara!" Star called back, thankful she wasn't going to be stuck with them bantering.

She heard Clara groan as the door was locked behind her.

~.~

Star was led into the Sheriff's quarters in the castle, and was currently sitting at the end of a long table, decorated with many different types of food and weapons on the wall.

The sheriff sat at the opposite end, "eat, my Lady, eat! Let it not be said that the Sheriff of Nottingham is a poor host!"

"I had some fish fingers and custard this morning, thank you," Star called.

"Your words are strange, fair one."

"Thank you."

"But I like it. You are refreshingly...direct."

She shrugged, "I speak my mind."

The Sheriff gestured to the table where the Doctors spoon sat with his gauntlet, a cheese sandwich, a paperback and the sonic screwdriver, "taken from your friend's strange tunic. An intriguing gallimaufry. Especially a young lady like yourself to have such good skills with a bow and arrow." he picked up the sonic, "and this. Evidently a thing of awesome power. Tell me...are you from beyond the stars?"

"You have a robot army." Star countered, "You tell me."

The Sheriff picked his teeth and smiled. "But enough of tawdry matters. Let us talk of softer...sweeter things." he stood up and moved closer to Star.

"About time," Star smiled mock sweetly, "I was hoping we'd get to this."

"You were?"

She got up and met at the middle of the table, "for I have know I was destined to draw the eye of a great and powerful man for a long time, ever since I saw those mysterious lights in the sky."

"You saw them too?"

"And those strange mechanical men," she agreed, "with their promises..."

"I too have experience these things."

"Really? Never would have guessed. Tell me your story."

"Tell me yours!"

"Oh, please, you first. I insist." She smiled up at him, battering her eyelashes.

"Right," he cleared his throat, "once upon a time there was a brave and clever a handsome man..."

"I can picture him without closing my eyes. Like he is…right in front of me."

"...unappreciated by his Royal master."

"Prince John?"

"The very same."

"And then the lights in the sky and everything changed," Star murmured.

"The sky ship came to Earth in a fury of fire!" he told her.

"I'd say it crashed. I remember it well."

"A craft from the heavenly spheres, bed light with twinkling lights and miracles beyond imagining! The most beautiful thing the brave and handsome man had ever seen..."

"The mechanical men saw you as their natural leader."

"It was I, and I alone, to whom the mechanical men within imparted their secrets! Shortly I will become the most powerful man in the realm. King in all but name! For Nottingham is not enough!"

"You want the world?" Star guessed.

"Yes!" he exclaimed.

"Then why are you hanging around here, your Majesty? Why bother to squeeze the pips out of the peasants if you've got a sky ship on standby?"

"Enough questions!" he shouted, "I am impatient to hear of your story."

"I lied," she stated.

"Lied?"

"I do that a lot. People are a lot better at sharing information if they think the other had already got it. And I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be. People usually tell me what I want assuming im innocent and adorable. Fool proof."

"Oh, that was clever. You'll do very well."

"Well for what?"

"Does not every king need a consort?" he leaned in to kiss her but she kneed him in the gut.

"How dare you!" she glared, "has no one taught you any manors. A lord should always wait for the lady's permission."

~.~

The door that the Sheriff had said led to the 'bridge' or something was blown of its hinges by the robot knights. They'd gotten an alarm of intruders, and realised the others had escaped the cell; Star had guessed that Clara had been the one to get the out. Women get stuff done while men only try to impress others.

"Surrender, outlaw!" the Sheriff called as the Doctor, Robin and Clara stood inside the room, having gotten out of their chains by Clara taking charge, and headed here to find out the Robin was just a legend, a story.

"Very good," the Doctor gave a slow mocking clap.

"Did I miss anything?" Star grinned.

"Kill him!" the Sheriff ordered, "kill Robin Hood!"

"You can drop all that, Sheriff." the Doctor rolled his eyes.

The knights aimed at Robin.

"What did I miss?" Star frowned.

"He's not what you think he is, Star. It's all just play acting."

"You sure? You do have a history of being wrong in this regeneration."

Robin jumped out of the knights' aim as it fired at the metal shutters, revealing a window.

"We can't just let them kill him!" Clara cried, rushing to him as he stood in the windows ledge. The knight aimed its weapon on her.

Robin wrapped his arms around Clara.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Surviving," he stated, falling backwards out the window with Clara as the knight fired and destroyed the window.

"No!" the Doctor rushed over, looking down in the moat.

"Sorry about that girl." the Sheriff smirked, "but she wouldn't have made as good a queen as this one," he looked at Star.

"Sorry, I don't need a king." She told him.

The Doctor looked back out the window to see Robin dragged an unconscious Clara to the side of the most; he looked at Star an idea forming, "Star…"

"If you think im going to jump into that water, following Robin and Clara you have got to be joking old man." She shivered just thinking about jumping into the water. Once you were born because of water you never were quite as fond of it as you once were before.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, turning to the sheriff, "You can stop pretending. You and your fancy robots. I get it, I understand."

"Oh, so you know my plans?" the Sheriff smiled.

"Spaceship disguised as a castle. Very neat. You and your robots are plundering the surrounding countryside for all it's worth." he looked at the technology, "of course! Gold! Of course! Gold! You're creating a matrix of gold to repair the engine circuitry!"

"This is the scheme the mechanicals have devised. Soon this sky ship will depart. Destination: London! There I shall obliterate the King and take my rightful place as ruler of this sceptered isle!"

"Wont work," Star mocked, "no chance at all."

"I've seen the instruments," the Doctor agreed, "there's been too much damage; you're stoking up a gigantic bomb!"

Both Time Lords looked up as the knight raised it chain-mailed fists and hit it down on their necks, knocking them both out.

~.~

"Engine capacity at 48%," a knight called.

The Doctor jolted awake, to find both he and Star were tied to a pillar in the corner of the castle vault. With liquid gold spurting to the spout high above their heads, and great circuit boated being stacked up and Star was still unconscious.

"Not enough," he muttered, "that's not enough. It'll never make orbit. That's the engines! Building in power. Stupid Sheriff. Stupid, stupid Sheriff. Stupid, stupid things." he looked over to see a young brunette woman staring at him, "what are you looking at?""

Star had finally awoken; the Doctor had told the woman what the Sheriff was planning.

"I think I understand you," she frowned, "the Sheriff is using the gold to repair something?"

"That's the principle," the Doctor nodded, "but he's a moron. If he tried to fly his ship, it'll explode and wipe out half the country."

"We need a riot," Star stated, standing up, getting out of her chains.

The woman untied the Doctor, he whispered a plan in her ear, knowing Star was listening telepathically. "Spread the word."

~.~

A knight approached the Doctor and Star as they pretended to still be tied up. It scanned them; "you are fit for labour." it turned to the woman, "stand aside while these peasants unit are freed."

"Too late," Star remarked.

"Explain."

"We're already free!" they smirked, grabbing a gold plate each and holding it up as the knight fired a beam of light at them only for it to hit the plate and deflecting into the shadows.

The knight fired again but the brunette held up her own gold plate and the beam hit another knight, blowing its head off.

All the peasants held up heir own gold plates as the knight prepared to kill them all.

It was rather easy to use the plates to reflect the knights and kill them all. They all lined the edge of the room, surrounding them and soon they were at the last one.

It fired and the beam bounced around the plates before hitting the knight, destroying it. Everyone cheered.

"Everyone out!" Star instructed, "Now! Out, out, out!"

Star blasted the door of the vault open and everyone ran out.

"You've save us all," the brunette smiled at them, "thank you," she gave the Doctor a quick kiss on the cheek before dashing out.

"Engine capacity at 80%," a knight called.

"You are indeed an ingenious fellow, Doctor," they turned to see the Sheriff standing at the doorway. "But do you really think you peasants' revolt can stop me?"

"I rather think you the revving one around here," the Doctor remarked before muttering to himself, "bantering! I'm bantering!"

"You've been doing that all day," Star informed him.

"Listen to me!" he called to the Sheriff, "you don't have enough gold content to seal the engine breach. If you try and take off, you'll wipe out half of England."

"Liar!" the Sheriff snarled, "from my sky-vessel I shall rule omnipitant."

"You pudding brained primitive, shut down the engines!"

The Sheriff clicked his fingers and the knights stomped towards the Doctor and Star.

"You'll alter the course of history!" Star shouted.

"I sincerely hope so." he smiled, "Or I wouldn't be bothering."

"Listen to me!" the Doctor cried as the knight aimed the purple light on them, "shut it all down. Return Clara to us and we'll do what we can to help you..."

"Return Clara? I do not have her."

"Robins one of yours!"

The Sheriff held up a hand and the knights held their fire, "what did you say?"

"He's one of your tin-headed puppets, just like these brutes here."

"Robin Hood is not one of mine," the Sheriff laughed.

"Well if he isn't yours..." Star trailed, "then...he is real!"

Oh, that was brilliant! THE Robin Hood, outlaw of Nottingham was real. Amazing.

"But he can't be! The Doctor argued, "he's a legend!"

"Too kind!" Robin called as he stood in the minstrels' gallery at the top of a large banner, "and this legend does not come alone!"

Clara peeked about behind him, "hiya!" she grabbed hold of the man as he plunged a danger into the banner and slid down to the floor.

Star ran over to hug Clara, "are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah!" she breathed.

The knight stomped towards them, "No!" the Sheriff stopped them, "this ones all mine!" he pressed a button on the control device and the robots powered down. "What do you say outlaw! A final reckoning!" he drew out his sword. Robin smirked and drew out his own sword.

The Doctor smiled at Clara, "you ok?"

"Fine, yeah," she nodded.

"Good. We don't have long."

"And the whole castles gonna blow," Star added.

"You have long been a thorn in my side," the Sheriff said.

"Well everyone should have a hobby, mines annoying you," Robin tied to lighten the mood.

"I'll have you boiled in oil at the castle..."

"Can you make it a bit earlier, that's a little past my bed time." Robin cut the curtain behind him, rising onto the beam above.

"I am too much for you, outlaw. The first of a new breed. Half man, half engine." the sheriff followed Robin to the beam. "Never ageing. Never tiring."

"Are you still talking?" Robin asked.

The sheriff cut Robins arm, making the man drop his sword, "bow down before your new kind, you prince of thieves!" he ran at Robin who took a leave out of the Doctors book, kicking the back of the sheriffs knee, making him loose his footing and fall into the chamber of gold.

"Sorry," Robin grinned at the trio as he joined them again, "was that showing off?"

"That was amazing!" Clara stared at him in awe.

"Come on!" Star shouted, "Run!" they ran out of the castle.

They looked back to see the castle rising into the air. Stream gushed from the engine pods.

"It'll never make it to orbit," Star mumbled, "not enough gold."

"Where is it?" the Doctor looked around, "where did it go? Where did you throw it?"

"Where did what go?" Clara asked.

"The golden arrow! Star, where did you throw it?"

"Ask the thieves," Star rolled her eyes, "they probably STOLE it!"

"Tuck?" Robin smiled at Friar Tuck.

The man produced the golden arrow. "You took it?" the Doctor grabbed it.

"Of course we took it."

"We're robbers," Friar smiled, proud.

"I love you boys!" the Doctor chuckled.

"What are you suggesting?" Clara frowned.

"The golden arrow, Clara! It might just be enough gold content to get the ship into orbit and out of harms way."

"It has to be you," Robin looked at him. "My arm..." he nodded to his arm where the sheriff had stabbed him.

The Doctor placed the arrow on the string but it fell off, "Star." he handed it to her.

"Together." She decided and the four of them helped shoot the arrow at the ship, hitting it just before it exploded in the atmosphere.

"I never miss my target!" Star grinned, smugly, "with or without cheating." She gave the Doctor a look, knowing that he had done something to the second arrow he handed her earlier when she beat Robin. That was how he had blown the target up with the sonic.

"One Autumn day in Nottingham, bold Robin Hood was in a jam." Alan sung as a crowd gathered, watching the ship explode, "his arrows flee with truest flight, the Sheriff fought with all his might..."

"Oh, give it a rest, Alan." Will sighed.

Robin burst into laugher and the Merry Men joined in, the Doctor gave a small smile.

"Still not keen in the laughing thing?" Clara asked him.

"No," he shook his head.

"Oh, come on," Star nudged him, "Not even a small chuckle?"

~.~

Back in the forest near the TARDIS the Doctor and Star said their goodbyes to the Merry Men as Robin helped Clara fire an arrow, hitting the bull's eye by the sound of her cheering.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Robin as Clara gave him a kiss.

Star laughed at his face, "it could have been worse."

"Could it?" he muttered.

"Would you rather I kiss Robin Hood?"

"No!" he shouted, "no, absolutely not!"

"See? Not so bad then." She knew why he was acting like it though, he was trying to be the old protective uncle to Clara, the one who while was fun and most loved out of all uncles was also the most protective and only wanted the best.

"So is it true?" Robin walked over as Clara went inside the TARDIS.

"Is what true?" the Doctor turned to him.

"That in the future I am forgotten as a real man. I am a legend."

"I'm afraid so."

"Good," he nodded, "history is a burden. But stories can make us fly."

"I can't believe you're real!" Star squealed, "That is just…brilliant. It really is. I am a really big fan. If you haven't already noticed."

"Is it so hard to credit? That's a man born into wealth and privilege should find the plight of the oppressed and weak too much to bear."

"No." the Doctor cut him off.

"Until one night he is moved to steal a TARDIS?" he continued, "fly among the stars, fighting the good fight, with his shining star. Clara told me your stories."

"She should not have told you of that," he glared.

"Well, once the story started, she could hardly stop herself. You are her hero, I think."

"I'm not a hero."

"Well, neither am I. But if we both keep pretending to be. Ha-ha! Perhaps others will be heroes in our name. Perhaps we will both be stories. And may those stories never end." he shook his head, "goodbye, Doctor, Time Lord of Gallifrey," he kissed Stars cheek, "goodbye Star, Time Lady of Gallifrey."

"Goodbye, Robin Hood, Earl of Loxley." the Doctor returned.

"And remember, Doctor," Robin called as they headed to the TARDIS, "I'm just as real as you are."

"Admit it, you like him," Clara teased.

"Well, we're leaving him a present, aren't we?" the Doctor countered, pulling a lever sending them off. The brunette who had helped them was none other than Maid Marion herself. it was only right they reunited the pair of lovers.

"Thanks." Star kissed the Doctors cheek as Clara went to get changed.

"For what?" he frowned, confused.

"Bringing back my hope,"

Robin Hood may be A hero. But the Doctor was HER hero. She smiled following Clara to the wardrobe leaving a very confused but also touched Doctor at the console.

**Gapejuice101: Im glad you're enjoying the story :)**


	4. Listen

"Warm enough?" the Doctor asked walking over to Star as she sat curled up on the chair on the upper gallery with a thick blanket wrapped around her.

"I am now," she nodded.

"What are you doing awake?"

"Take a guess." She mumbled. That damn dream again, even though it wasn't a dream, you don't have the same dream ever time you sleep since you were 50 when you were now 620 or so? (She had no idea how old she was, left the Doctor to remind her as she reminded him of his age.)

"The dream?" he guessed.

"The same as always," she sighed, it was so tiring now. At first she just waved it off as a simple dream but now after this time, it was so frustrating, because it felt so real, as soon as something grabbed her, she heard a small voice whisper to her, but then she could never remember going back to sleep, and if she never fell back to sleep then she was never sleeping in the first place so she was already awake, right? "Why are you up?"

"Just, came to check on you," he said, sitting next to her on the arm of the chair.

"Continue."

He sighed; she always could tell when there was something more bothering him, "I had a…nightmare last night."

Star snorted, "welcome to my world." He rolled his eyes at her, "so what was this nightmare?"

"It was…similar to yours."

"Something grabbed your ankle?"

He snapped his fingers at her, "that's the one."

"And a voice? Did you hear a voice?"

He leaned in and whispered, "Listen."

She blinked at him, "I am listening."

"No I mean…" he stood and wondered around the room, still speaking, "Question: why do we talk out loud when we know we're alone?"

"Well, because im insane and you're pretty mad yourself?" she giggled.

"Im serious, Nova. What if we talk out loud when we're alone because we know we are not alone? There are perfect hunters. There is perfect defence. Why is there no such thing as perfect hiding? Answer: how would you know? Logically, if evolution were to perfect a creature...whose primary skills were to hide...from view how could you know it existed? It could be with us every second and we would never know. How would you detect it? Even sense it? Except in those moments when, for no clear reason, you choose to speak aloud. What would such a creature want? What would it do?" Star just stared at him, "well? What would you do?"

"Once you start having a nightmare every night, you learn how to hide just how tired you are." Star remarked, "but a once off, like you, I'd say get some sleep. Seriously, you seem really tired."

"Im fine," he rolled his eyes at her concern, "come on," he lead her to one of the chalkboards had 'listen' scribbled down. "See?"

She shook her head, "you wrote 'listen' down."

"No," he grinned, "I didn't. Its not like I could have forgetting I wrote it down could I?"

Star opened her mouth to answer but closed it again, best not to say that his memory wasn't as good as it once was. Trenzalore had seriously affected him badly.

"Dad!" Star called, as he ran to the console, piloting them off, "you're just tired. Seriously just get some sleep, please."

She had learnt to hide just how tired she was from lack of sleep. When you have a dream as often as she did, you learnt to live with it, take small naps often so you still got the right amount of sleep without having time for the dream to kick in. And she was pretty sure it was the dream that was the sign of her madness, the lack of sleep making her more bananas that she already was. Or maybe it was the dream making her mad. Keeping her awake at night, making her so tired that she went into madness. She honestly had no idea.

~.~

The Doctor had materialised the TARDIS is Clara's bedroom in her small flat, there wasn't much room but the woman had managed to squeeze through the door.

"Why do you have 3 mirrors?" Star got straight to the point as she sat at Clara's make up table, looking into the mirrors at all different angles, "Have you ever thought about moving your head? Or is it too wide? No, wait, that's rude, but still, 3 mirrors, why?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked instead.

"You said you had a date," the Doctor remarked as he sat on the end of her bed, "I thought we'd better hide in the bedroom in case you brought him home and he shouldn't be in the bedroom this early. Bit early, aren't you?"

"It was a disaster and I am extremely upset about it, since you didn't ask."

"Isn't it best not to ask and let you speak when you're ready?" Star frowned. "And we need you."

"I can't!"

"Why not?" she pouted, "isn't your date finished now?"

She hesitated before answering, "…I might be getting a phone call."

"From Danny the date guy?"

"How do you know his name?"

"I just…wanted to find out who you were seeing. For your safety."

"That's sweet, but there's no need."

"We just want what's best for you."

"Too late now," the Doctor cut in, "you've taken your make up off."  
"No I haven't," Clara shook her head.

"Oh, well you probably just missed a bit. Come on."

He and Star got up and headed into the TARDIS giving Clara little choice but to follow, "I haven't actually said yes," she pointed out as they ran to the console.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "but you know sometimes when you talk to yourself? What if you're not?"

"Not what?"

"What if it's not you you're talking to? Proposition: what if no one is ever really alone? What if every single living being has a... companion. A silent passenger. A shadow. What if the prickle on the back of your neck, is the breath of something close behind you?"

"Have you been sleeping Doctor?" Clara asked him.

"Come on," the Doctor ignored her, heading up the stairs, showing Clara the board with the word 'Listen' written down.

"Looks like your handwriting," Clara remarked.

"Well, I couldn't have written it and forgotten, could I?" the Doctor countered.

"Yes." Star answered promptly.

"Shut up." the Doctor nearly whined.

"Have you met you?" Clara looked at all the books lying around, "what's all this?"  
"Dreams. Accounts of dreams, by different people, all through history, you see I have a theory."

"I bet you do."

"I think everybody, at some point in their lives, has the exact same nightmare."

"You wake up or you think you do. And there's someone in the dark, someone close or you think there might be. So you sit up and turn on the light. And the room looks different, at night. It ticks and creaks and breathes. And you tell yourself there's nobody there. Nobody watching. Nobody listening. Nobody there at all. And you very nearly believe it. You really, really try. And then…"

"Stop." Star interrupted with a small shiver.

"It's just a dream," Clara shook her head, "I dream. We all dream."

"There accounts of that dream throughout human history." The Doctor said, running back down the stairs, "Time and time again, the same dream. Now, there's an obvious question I'm about to ask you. Do you know what it is?"

"Have you had that dream?" Clara asked.

"Exactly."

"No that was me asking you have you had that dream."

"I asked first."

"No you didn't."

"Clara…" Star looked at her, "he has, that's why he's doing all this. Have you?"

She hesitated, "…Okay, yeah, probably. Yes. But everyone dreams about something under the bed!"

"But why?"

"Why do you?" she countered.

"I don't know," she shook her head, "but its maker me insaner-er. That's not a word is it?"

"Nope."

"Right," the Doctor cleared his throat, "Just hold on tight." He placed Clara's hands in a section of the console, "If anything bites, let it."

"What is it?" she frowned, leaving her hands there.

"TARDIS telepathic interface." Star explained, "You're in mental contact with the TARDIS."

"So don't think anything rude." The Doctor added.

"Why not?" Clara wondered.  
"It might end up on all the screens. The TARDIS is extrapolating your entire time line, from the moment of your birth, to the moment of your death."

"Which I do not need a preview off." Clara whispered to the rotor.

"I'm turning off the safe guards and Navigation. Slaving the TARDIS to you."

"Why?"  
"Now focus on the dream! Focus on the details, picture them, feel them, the TARDIS will track on your subconscious, extract the relevant information. Should be able to home in on the moment in your timeline when you first had that dream. Then we'll see."

"What will we see?"

"What's under your bed." Star replied, "It's very important. Don't get distracted, remember. You are flying a time machine, remember what happened last time."

"That wasn't my fault," she defended, before closing her eyes in concentration, opening them as her mobile rang, thinking of Danny, of her date that had ended very badly.

"Ignore it!" Star told her, pulling it out of the woman's pocket and throwing it away.

"Ok," the Doctor checked the controls, "that's good. That worked, we're here."

"Sorry," Clara winced, "I think I got distracted."

"No, no, no, no, the date's fine. Come on."

"Come on where?" Clara called as the Time Lords headed out the door.

"Your childhood," Star called back.

"Erm, little help." Clara gestured to where her hands were still in the telepathic field, stuck.

Star rolled her eyes as she headed back to the woman, "gently pull them out." She held Clara hands and slowly pulled them out from the substance in the panel, "she's like a cat remember? Come on." She pulled her outside.  
"The West Country's Children home," the Doctor said as they looked at the dull building, "Gloucester, by the ozone level and the drains. Mid-nineties."

"Why are we here?" Clara demanded.

"You must have been here when you had the dream," Star reasoned, "which is odd..."

"I've never been in a Gloucester my life!" Clara shook her head, "and I've never live in a children's home."

"I thought your mum died when you were young," Star frowned at Clara, "and you were brought up by your dad."

"I was!"

"Oh, you probably just forgotten," the Doctor waved her off, "have you seen the size of human brains, they're hilarious. Little you must be in here somewhere, with your little brain."

"Is it bad if I meet myself?"

"It is potentially catastrophic," he agreed.

"So why did you bring me out here?"

"He's tired, Clara," Star informed the girl, "he doesn't know what he's doing."

"I do too!" he defended, "I just needed someone to nod. Probably best for you to wait in the TARDIS," he and Star headed towards the home when something caught Clara's eye, one of the windows had a light on.

"Doctor..." she called, "Star."

"TARDIS!" Star called back.

"If I had been distracted, what would have happened?"

"We'd have gone to the wrong place," the Doctor explained, "don't think we have, the time zone is about right. We won't be long."

Star rolled her eyes as the Doctor held the door open for her. They were in the wrong place, Clara had gotten distracted by the phone, but because it's the right time zone, it's the right place in the Doctors mind. Idiot. He was lucky she was so fond of him.

They walked down the corridor, looking around the creepy home, the tiled floors, wide stone stairs, silent other than laughter from the reception area.

The security guard exited the back room, stopping in surprise seeing the Doctor and Star staring at him, "how did you get in?" he demanded.

"Faulty door," Star shrugged him off. The Doctor had simply soniced it open.

The Doctor held up the psychic paper to the man, "an inspection?" he frowned, "it's 2 in the morning."

"When better?" the Doctor countered, "do you always work nights?"

"Most nights, yes."

"Ever end up talking to yourself?"

"All the time...it's this place, you can't help it."

"What about your coffee?" Star nodded to the mug of coffee on the desk.

"My coffee?" the man frowned at the random question.

"Sometimes do you put it down, and look around, and then it's not there?"

"Everybody does that."

"Yup. Everybody."

The man eyed the pair oddly when the TV cut off.

"Who turned your telly off?" the Doctor wondered.

"It does that," the man shrugged, looking back, "it goes off."

Star took the mans coffee mug and they walked off down the corridor. She handed it to the Doctor who took a sip of it. she had never been that fond of coffee, preferred tea or hot chocolate. "Can we please go back to the TARDIS now?" Star asked, "Will you please go to sleep?"

"Don't you want to find out why everyone has the same dream?" he glanced at her as he scanned around.

"Well, yes, but, honestly…"

"There's something more here…got it! Come on!" he ran up the stairs, leaving Star to follow, groaning.

When she had nightmares he just waved them off, 'they're only dreams, Nova' he would say, 'not real', 'all just your imagination' but when he has nightmares its all 'have to find out where it originates from.' Eurgh, parents.

~.~

They ran into a room where they heard Clara talking to a young black boy, "who's this?" she demanded of the small figure user the boys red bed sheet, "this a friend of yours playing a game?" she asked the boy who shook his head, "playing a trick, are you? A little trick on Rupert here?"

The figure rose and Clara and Rupert stared at it, not noticing the Doctor and Star sneak into the room.

"Ok," Clara breathed as the figure, child size, stood on the bed, "it's not funny this, you know!"

"Where is he?" the Doctor murmured as he sat in the chair, flipping thought a book.

"Doctor?" Clara blinked at him.

"I can't find him. Can you find him?" he asked Star.

"There he is!" she cheered, pointing in the top corner, "Oh, no, wait, no it isn't."

"Who's not?" Clara shook her head at that.

"Wally," the Doctor answered, holding up a book on stream train history.

"Wally?"

"He's nowhere in this book."

"It's not a 'Where Wally' book," Rupert told him.

"How do you know?" the Doctor looked up, "maybe you just haven't found him yet."

"He isn't in every book," Star told him.

"Really?" he frowned at her and she nodded, "we'll that's a few years if my life I'll be needing back. Wait a minute, you told me he was!"

She shrugged innocently, "Whoops."

"Don't get distracted," Clara sighed.

"Are you scared?" Star asked Rupert, "The thing on your bed. Does it scare you?"

He looked at the figure and nodded, "yes."

"And that's good." she smiled at him, "and do you know why that's good?" she asked, standing between him and figure, taking his hand.

"Why?" he asked, peering over her shoulder at the figure.

"Let me tell you about being scared." She began, repeating the wise words the Doctor had told her so long ago, but she had always remembered, "Your heart is beating so hard you can feel it through your hands. There's so much blood and oxygen pumping through your brain it's like rocket fuel. Right now you can run faster and fight harder and jumper higher than ever in your life and you're so alert it's like you can slow down time. Scared is like a superpower. It's your superpower. There is a danger in this room, but that's you. Do you feel it?" he nodded.

"Do you think he feels it?" the Doctor jerked his head to the figure, "do you think he's scared?" the boy shook his head, "Loser! Turn your back on him."

"...what?" he blinked.

"Turn you back on him, come on."

"And you Clara," Clara did as he said, "and you Star." The three time travellers looking out the window, Star more hesitant than the others.

"Come on, Rupert," Star encouraged him, eyes locked on the window, "it'll be fine. You can trust us."

Slowly, with effort, Rupert pulled his gaze from the figure.

"Lovely view out this window," the Doctor commented.

"Yeah," Clara agreed, "come as see all the dark."

"The deep and lovely dark," Star said, "never would see the stars without it."

Slowly, Rupert joined them at the window, standing between Star and Clara.

"Now. There are two possibilities," the Doctor murmured as they looked out the window, "possibility one: it's just one of your friends standing there, and he's playing a joke on you. Possibility two: it isn't."

"Not helping." Star whispered tensely.

"So...plan?" Clara inquired, "Plans are good."

"You on the bed," he called back, not looking back, "I'm talking to you. Just leave, go in peace. We won't look. Just go, now!" silence, "it's ok if you just have to stay hidden. Just leave now."

There was a creaking of bed springs and a foot in the floor, through the reflection in the window they could see something moving behind them.

"Is it gone?" Clara whispered when there was silence.

"Don't look round," the Doctor instructed, "not yet."

"I can't hear anything," Rupert breathed.

"Don't look round," but Rupert turned and the figure stood directly behind him, "look away! Look away now! Don't look at it!" Rupert snapped his head back round, "don't look round."

In the window they could just make out a figure, small, child-size, about Rupert size, hidden under the bed sheet. It was most likely just a child having come to try and scare Rupert but he didn't want to get caught, so now he was keeping himself hidden under the bed sheet.

"Don't look round," the Doctor told him, "don't look at the reflection."

"What is it?" the boy breathed, terrified.

"Imagine something that must never be seen. What would you do if you saw it?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither. Close your eyes," the Doctor ordered.

"What?"

"Close your eyes. You too, Clara, Star. Give it what it wants." The four of them closed their eyes. "Prove to it you're never going to look. Make a promise, promise never to look at it."

"I promise...never to look..."

"The breath on the back of your neck...like your hairs standing on end...that means, don't look round!"

And the door shut. They spun around to see the room now empty.

"He's gone," Star let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding.

"He took my bedspread," Rupert pouted.

"Oh, the human race, you're ever happy are you?" the Doctor grumbled.

~.~

A few minutes later, Rupert sat in the middle of his bed, Star sitting cross legged at the end. The Doctor sitting in the chair, fiddling with the sonic as Clara searched through a cupboard next to him.

"Am I safe now?" Rupert asked.

"Oh, no, nobody's safe," the Doctor shook his head, "especially not at night in the dark, anything can get you. And you're up here all alone..." he was cut off by Clara cuffing him on the head, "what was that for?"

"Shut up and leave this to me." she pulled out a shoebox full of toy soldiers, "these yours?" she turned to Rupert.

"They're the homes," he corrected.

"They're yours now."

"People don't need to be lied to," the Doctor began.

"People don't need to be scared by a big grey haired stick insect." Star giggled at the insult, now she thought about it, he did remind her of a stick insect. "But here you are. Sit down, shut up." Clara looked up at Rupert, "see what I'm doing?" she arranged the soldiers around his bed, guarding the underneath, "this is your army."

"Plastic army," the Doctor corrected.

"Sit!" she shouted as he began to get up. Sulkily he sat back down, folding his arms, "And they're going to guard under your bed." she held up a broken soldier, "this one is the boss soldier. The Colonel. He's going to keep a special eye out..."

"It's broken," Rupert cut in, "that one. It doesn't have a gun."

"But that's why he's the boss," Star smiled, "a soldier so brave that he doesn't need a gun. He can keep the world safe without the need of a weapon."

"What shall we call him?" Clara asked.

"Dan!" he decided instantly.

"...sorry?"

"Dan, the soldier man. That's what I'll call him." he took hold of the plastic soldier.

"Good," she nodded slowly, "good name."

"Yeah. Would you read me a story? It'll help me get to sleep."

"Sure."

The Doctor walked over, pressing his fingers against the boys' temples, "once upon a time..." the boy fell back on his bed, asleep "the end." He turned to Clara, grinning, "dad skills."

"I thought you saved those skills for me?" Star pouted.

"Sometimes I need to use my skills on other people too."

~.~

They'd quickly gone back to the TARDIS and gotten back into the time vortex.

"So is it possible we just saved that kid from another kid in a bedspread," Clara wondered.

"Entirely possible, yes," the Doctor nodded, "bigger question, why did we end up with him and not you?"

"I got distracted," she admitted.

"But why that particular boy? You don't have any kind if connection with him, do you?"

"You don't have children do you?" Star tilted her head at the woman. "I don't need any more nieces or great-cousins at the moment."

"Why do you ask?" Clara eyed them. "And no I don't have any kids."

"The TARDIS was slaved to your time line, theoretically, there should be some connection." The Doctor remarked.

"Will, erm...will he...remember any of that?"

"Scrambled his memory," he shrugged her off, "shouldn't think so. Gave him a big old dream about being Dan the soldier man."

Star looked over, seeing Clara closing her eyes in despair, "You ok? Finding out about origins of dreams can be…" she paused for a right word, "freaky."

"Fine," she quickly nodded, "are you?"

Star shrugged.

"Can I ask a favour? I regret leaving my date as I did. I won't run into myself. I just…regret walking out like I did."

~.~

The TARDIS materialised in a side ally where the restaurant Clara had her date was. She wanted to go back to moments after she stormed out and apologise to her date, try and sort things out.

Past Clara stormed out of the restaurant, passing them, oblivious to them and the TARDIS.

"Is that what I look like from the back?" Clara asked, popping her head out, watching herself storm off.

"You look lovely." Star complimented her.

"I do look good don't I." she agreed.

"I've seen worse." The Doctor offered, not seeing the big deal of offering Clara a compliment.

Clara walked back into the restaurant as the Time Lords went back inside, dematerialising, trying to figure out why they'd gone to see Rupert and what connection he had with Clara.

The Doctor pulled a level, curious as to why they ended up in Rupert time line and not Clara's.

~.~

They'd manage to track down someone from Clara's future. Colonel Orson Pink. Star had burst into a fit of laughter at the name but they had found him in the future, he had asked them if they were the rescue party. So they brought him back to the restaurant Clara was, sending him out in his orange spacesuit, to collect Clara who had stormed into the room, severely annoyed at being interrupted.

"I am trying to have a date," she rambled as she stormed in, "a real life, inter human, actual date. It's a normal, nice, every day meeting-up-sort-of thing, and I just want to know do you have any other way to make this any more surreal that it already is…"

Orson pressed a button on his helmet, pulling it off, "hello." he greeted.

"Ah, Clara!" the Doctor grinned, walking up the stairs with Star.

Star turned to Orson, "well done, you found her. Not that she's hard to miss."

"Now really, this is a bit strange."

"Danny?" Clara breathed, staring at him in shock and confusion.

"What's wrong with your face?" the Doctor looked at her as she stared, eyes wide, "it's all eyes. Why are you all eyes? Get them under control."

"Who's Danny?" Orson frowned.

"This is Colonel Orson Pink," the Doctor explained, "from about 100 years in your future."

"Orson Pink?" Clara repeated.

"We laughed too!" Star laughed turning to Orson, "Sorry your name's just so funny."

"Do you have any connection with him?" the Doctor turned to Clara.

"Connection?" she frowned.

"Yes, maybe you're like a distant relative of yours or something?"

"How would I know?" she shook her head.

"Right ok," he nodded, turning to Orson, "do you have any old family photographs of her? You know probably quite old really fat looking?"

"I don't think Clara will end up fat or ugly." Star crossed her arms at him, "I doubt she'll look much different except older, with greyer hair. She might be taller though." She turned to Clara, "I don't think its possible for you to shrink anymore."

"Well. I don't..." Orson fumbled.

"How did you find him?" Clara cut in.

"You left a trace in the TARDIS telepathic circuits," Star explained, "we fired them up again, found him. Must be in your time line."

"Ok..."

"And you'll never guess where we found him!" She grinned.

~.~

They'd gone back to where they had found Orson; "So this is it then?" Clara asked as they stepped out of the TARDIS into a small ship made into a small living quarters a control panel in the middle of the room, a window letting in the little light from the rocky planet outside. "The end of the universe?"

"The end of the line," Star murmured, "The end of everything, the last planet. Some call it Utopia." She rubbed her head.

"This is actually the end of the universe?" she breathed.

"Hmm. The TARDIS isn't supposed to come this far, but some idiot turned the safeguard off." she mock-glared at the Doctor.

"Listen!" the Doctor hissed.

"To what?" Clara shook her head.

"Nothing. There's nothing to hear, nothing anywhere. Not a breath, not a slither, not a click or a tick. All the clocks have stopped. This is the silence at the end of time."

Clara looked over at Orson who was quickly packing his stuff, "then how did he get here? If he's from a hundred years in my future..."

"Pioneer time traveller." the Doctor shrugged her off.

"Like Hila?" Clara wondered.

"Exactly." Star nodded.

The Doctor soniced the controls, a clip appeared on the screen of Orson smiling and waving at the camera standing before his ship. The banner above him reading, 'See you next week, says time traveller.'

"It's a historic moment as Orson Pink becomes the first man to travel through time," an interviewer said on the screen, "what's going through your mind right now?"

"Honestly, I'm just focused in the mission," the man answered, "time travel is in my blood. In some ways it feels like I was born to do this. It's a historic day for mankind, and I know how this sounds, but for me it means even more: it's a fulfilment of my destiny."

"Rode the first great time shots," the Doctor told Clara, "they were supposed to fire him into the middle of next week."

"What happened?" she asked.

"He went a bit far."

"A bit?"

"A big bit."

The screen changed to footage of Orson being interviews.

"Now look at him," Star sighed, "Robinson Crusoe at the end of time itself. The last man standing in the universe."

"I always thought it would be me," the Doctor remarked.

"Yeah, and I'd be the last girl."

"It's not a competition," Clara looked at the pair.

"We know." They replied in unison.

"Course there's still time though." the Doctor shrugged.

"He looks like he's packing," Clara remarked, watching him stuff his belongs in a rucksack, not bothering to be neat, just packing as fast as he could

"Stranded for 6 months, just met time travellers. Of course he's packing."

Orson walked over to them, still packing, "you can do it then? You can get me home?"

"Just showed you didn't we?" the Doctor countered, "a test flight to a restaurant."

"But to my family, to my own time?"

"Easy! We can do that, can't we, Clara?"

"They can, yes." Clara nodded.

"Is everything ok?" Orson asked her as she stared at him.

"Yeah, fine," she nodded, "I'm fine."

"Do I know you?"

"Nope."

"Is she doing the 'all eyes' thing?" the Doctor wondered, "It's because her face is so wide."

"She needs 3 mirrors!" Star added, "3!"

"Can't leave immediately, though. The TARDIS will need to recharge."

Clara blinked, "sorry, what?"

"Over night, that's should do it. What do you think, Clara?"

"Over night?" Orson repeated, growing nervous.

"That's not a problem, is it?" Star tilted her head at him.

"No. Not a problem."

"Shame. Isn't it?"

"What's a shame?"

"Only four people left in the universe, and you're lying to the other three."

Orson faltered, trying to deny it, but was unsure what to say.

"It's the first thing I noticed when we stepped in here," the Doctor agreed with what Star silently meant, "you must have seen it too Clara, you've got eyes out to here!"

"Seen what?" she shook her head, ignoring the insult about her eyes.

Star pointed to the big round door with a wheel at the centre, "that. The universe is dead. Everything gone and dead. Nothing beyond the door, nothing at all..." she turned to Orson, "so why is it locked?"

"Please. Don't make me spend another night here." he pleaded.

"Why not?"

"Afraid of the dark?" the Doctor mocked, "But the dark is empty now."

The room turned red as the sun set behind the mountains.

"...no. No, it isn't." Orson shook his head, "not at night it isn't."

Seeing Orson looking terrified they'd led him inside the TARDIS, he'd be safer in there for the night, Clara keeping an eye in him, helping him settle in for the night before joining the Time Lords back out in the command deck, bringing with her tea for them all as she sat on a chair on Stars right, the girl in the middle.

"...what are we doing?" Clara inquired.

"Waiting," was all the Doctor told her.

"For what? For who? If everyone in the universe is dead then there's nobody out there."

"That's one way of looking at it."

"What's the other?"

He turned to her, serious, "that's a helluva lot of ghosts." the lighting changed as he spoke, a dim, eerie purple.

"Do you have your own mood lighting?" Clara tried to joke, "Because frankly, the accent is enough."

Star rolled her eyes and turned to the door, looking at the note on the door, illuminated by the light.

DON'T OPEN THE DOOR.

Clara followed her gaze, "where did that come from?" she was sure it wasn't there earlier.

"It was always there," the Doctor stated, turning to look at it as well, "only visible in the night light."

"But who wrote it?"

"Colonel Pink. Apparently, at night, he needs a reminder. 6 months stranded alone, I suppose it must be tempting."

"What must?"

"Company."

From outside there was a scuttle and a scratching, "What's that?" Clara gasped.

"What kind of explanation do you want?" Star asked.

"A reassuring one," she said, knowing Star would likely give her a terrifying one.

"Well, the systems are switching to low power," the Doctor explained, "There are temperature differentials all over this ship. It's like pipes banging when the heating goes off."

"Always thought there was something in the pipes."

"Me too," the Doctor agreed.

"Like a Basilisk." Star offered.

"Who were you having dinner with?" the Doctor randomly asked.

Clara blinked at the topic change and turned to the Time Lord, "are you making conversation?"

"He does that when bored." Star told her.

"I told you. A date."

"Serious?" the Doctor looked at her.

"It's a date."

"A serious date?"

"Do I have to bring him to you for approval?"

"We only want the best for you, Clara," Star smiled innocently.

"Seriously?" Clara raised her eyebrows.

"Well…" the girl shrugged, "it's not like you can get a better date then my big bro."

Just then there was a hiss and a slither from outside, making the three tense and Star pull out her dagger.

"Atmospheric pressure equalising," the Doctor said.

"Or?"

"Company."

"Why, why are we doing this?" Clara demanded, "Why don't we just go."

"Because we need to know," Star replied.

"Why? About what?"

"Suppose there were creatures, that lived to hide, that only showed themselves to the very young or the very old or the mad or anyone who wouldn't be believed..."

"What would they do, those creatures, when everyone was gone?" the Doctor wondered, "When there was only one man left standing in the universe...?"

They look over at the door as it clanged as though someone was knocking.

"...what's that?" Clara breathed.

"Potentially the hull cooling," the Doctor said, sitting up straighter.

"Potentially?"

"Believably. Someone knocking. Yes."

"You don't actually believe it do you? Hiding creatures. Things from under the bed."

"I do," Star admitted.

"Right..."

The Doctor slowly stood as stood in front of the door, "what's that in the mirror? Or the corner of your eye?" he recited, "what that footstep following, but never passing by?"

"Did we come to the end of the universe because of a nursery rhyme?" Clara sighed.

The Doctor pulled and the sonic and the lock button changed to unlocked.

"Is that you turning?"

"No!"

"Come on," Star pulled Clara away, "TARDIS."

"Im not leaving you both out here!" the woman crossed her arms.

"It's dangerous."

"Exactly. Star, come on, let's just go. Lets all go and forget this every happened."

Star swallowed, "I can't. I need to know. Even more than him." he jerked her head at the Doctor who was staring intently at the turning door handle, "there is something out there and it is messing with my mind. I need to find out what it is."

"If that door opens…" Clara began, "is there even an atmosphere out there?"

"There's an air shell around the ship," Star assured her.

"I'll be watching on the monitor." Clara warned, "keeping my eye on you and if I have to I will drag you both in by your earlobes before you can do anything stupid."

"Yes ma'am." Star nodded as Clara closed the TARDIS doors. She took a breath and joined the door, taking his hand tightly in hers as they watched the door.

"Perhaps they're all just waiting, perhaps when we're all dead out they'll come a-slithering from underneath the bed," the Doctor quoted.

The door slowly began to open.

They grabbed onto the console as the vacuum was sucked from the room. Star squinted at the door as everything flew passed. She couldn't see anything out there but that didn't mean there wasn't. it could be small or invisible. She didn't have time to thing of much else as the vacuum got stronger…

~.~

Star's eyes snapped open hearing the door shut, "where are we?" she demanded to Orson, seeing he was the only one there, well, as well as herself and the Doctor, who was still out cold, "Where's Clara?"

"She went outside somewhere." Orson said, unsure where they were himself.

Star hurried to the scanner as the Doctor awoke with a jolt, "Star!"

"Im right here!" she peeked around from the other side, "im fine! Promise!" she rolled her eyes as she got the sonic out and aimed it at her, "quit scanning me. Im fine!" she walked over and put the sonic back in his pocket, herself, "I'd tell you if I was, would I?"

"I suppose…" he began slowly.

"So stop worrying about me."  
"Im always worrying about you," he murmured.

"What happened?" Orson called to them, "What did you see? What's out there?"

"What if there was nothing?" Clara closed the door as she entered again, "What if there never was anything? Nothing under the bed, nothing at the door. What if the big bad Time Lord doesn't want to admit he's just afraid of the dark."  
"Where are we?" the Doctor turned to her, "Have we moved? Where have we landed?"  
"I'd like to forget today happened." Star muttered.

The Doctor eyed both Clara and Star before pulling a lever sending them away.

~.~

They'd dropped Orson of back in his time, the man shaking the Time Lords hands and pulling Clara into a tight hug.

They were back in the TARDIS, the Time lords at the console and Clara at the side watching when she hugged them both from behind.

"Oh, not the hugging!" the Doctor moaned, "no, no. I'm against the hugging please..."

"But I love the hugging!" Star laughed, giving them both a squeeze.

~.~

They'd dropped Clara back outside her date's home and went back into the vortex.

The Doctor frowning at the word LISTEN in the chalk board before simply crossing it out.

"So, it's just a dream isn't it?" Star asked, walking over seeing him crossing it out.

"Hmm," he hummed, "just a silly dream from childhood everyone has. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Just a silly dream." She repeated, "wanna know what else im curious about?"

He glanced at her, "what?"

"Why am I classed as insane just because I can do things most cant? Why doesn't that mean im inspired? Or why im not someone who ran away because I am always running, still, aren't I? How come when we look into the Untempered Schism we are only classed as one of those three? What if there was a fourth option, or fifth. What if someone could be in two or more?"

"Get some sleep, Nova." The Doctor patted her shoulder, "you seem really tired." He repeated what she had said to him earlier, "you're just tired. Seriously just get some sleep, please."

The grin she had on her face faded into a glare as she folded her arms, "you're mocking me aren't you?"

"Course not." He chuckled.

"I'll be in the library if you need me." She turned and walked off.

The Doctor shook his head, watching her leave. He'd never understand her or how are mind works…but, she was onto something.

**TheGirlWithHerHeadInABook1: Don't worry. We will have a flirting Star one day :)**


	5. Time hiest

"Clara!" Star shouted as she sat on the counter in the woman's kitchen, "why are there no bananas?"

"You ate them all." She called back from where she was in her bedroom getting ready to go out.

"Why haven't you got anymore?"

"I haven't been able to go shopping since you last came."

They still continued coming on Wednesday, every Wednesday or at least to her anyway, god knows how long its been for them both but after the Doctor had spent 800 years or so alone on Trenzalore she couldn't blame them for wanting to spent time alone just the two of them. Of course she knew no matter how long it had been for them she knew they would always come back and give her an adventure when they were ready.

She jumped, her thoughts cutting out as Star let out a shriek.

"Why do you have a pear!" the girl cried.

"It's just a pear." Clara sighed, hearing a thump which she could only assume was from Star throwing the pea at the wall; she would be left to clean that up.

She'd been told that last time Star encountered a pear they had ended up at a pear factory only for the girl to blow the factory up, they never said where the Doctor was during that time, whether he was there or not, but she could assume if he was he would agree with her to get rid of the pears. They really did not like pears.

"The Satanic Nebula!" the Doctor cut in as he watched Clara's washing machine go round, not at all surprise by the sudden scream, used to the loud noises Star made, "or...the lagoon of lost stars...or we could go to...Brighton! I've got a whole day worked out. What do you think?" he glanced at Star ask she walked down the Clara room, "Brighton?"

"Sounds good." She nodded before jumping on Clara bed.

"I just made that!" the woman cried.

"Oops!" Star grinned, "but, Brighton, good idea or not?"

"Sorry, but as you can see, I've got plans," she gestured to her outfit, a simple suit but smart enough to show she was going out somewhere nice.

"Have you?" the Doctor looked at her as he appeared in the doorway.

"Look at me."

"Yeah, ok."

"No, look at me."

"Yep, looking," he nodded.

"...seriously? Star, you can see, cant you?" she turned to the girl.

"Another date?" she guessed.

"Yeah."

"Why is you face all coloured in?" the Doctor frowned. "Are you taller?"

"Heels." she lifted her leg up to show him the heels she had on.

"Need to reach a high shelf?" Star joked.

"Right, got to go. Going to be late."

"For a shelf?" the Doctor shook his head.

"For a date." Star corrected, "Is this the same guy?"

"Yes." Clara huffed, "do you really think I'd get another guy in such a short period of time? Don't answer that!" she pointed at them seeing Star open her mouth to reply.

"I want to meet this guy." The Doctor frowned.

"Yeah…why can't we meet him?" Star tilted her head.

Clara opened her mouth, then closed it again, thinking of the right way to say it. she wanted to say that they scare him of because that would likely happen, "I want to make sure it is getting serious before I introduce you to him." she offered.

"You mean we'll scare him off."

"Now I really have to go!" Clara called as she headed to her door, "and the dustpan and brush are under the sink. Star, please clean up the mushed pear before I get back."

"You can't tell me what to do." Star crossed her arms.

"Im the boss aren't I?" she countered.

They all looked back when the phone rang from the TARDIS

"There you go, you've got another playmate." Clara smiled, turning to leave again.

The Doctor stared at the phone, "Hardly anyone in the universe had that number."

"Well I've got it."

"From some woman in a shop," Star remarked, "and we still don't know who that was. Doesn't that drive you mad?"

"No," Clara shook her head, "is that her now?"

"There are very few people it could be," the Doctor said, opening the door and reaching for the phone.

"It could be River…" Star mused. "And then the woman who gave you our number." It was very irritating not to know what that was.

"Don't," Clara warned.

"Why not?" the Doctor glanced back at her.

"Because, if you answer it, something will happen."

"What?"

"A thing!"

"It's just a phone, Clara."

"No, don't!" Star called as the Doctor picked it up…

~.~

Star flung the memory worm across the table that had somehow appeared in her hand, next to her, the Doctor did the same as Clara screamed on Stars right, throwing it on the table, opposite was a man with cybernetic parts and a black woman who was mostly covered.

"Doctor?" Clara looked at them, "Star?"

"Don't touch it!" the Doctor warned.

"Where are we? How did we get here?"

"Who are you?" the man asked, "sorry, what's going on. I don't understand."

"Have I seen you before?" Star squinted at the other people.

The woman sat next to the man, dressed with most of her skin covered, with a glove off from when she touch the worm. Her face formed to that of the worm for a second before turning to normal as she put her glove back on. "What is that thing?" she stared at the worm.

"Memory worm."

"What happened to your face?" Clara turned to the woman in shock.

"Deletes your memories," the Doctor explained, "one touched transmits a toxin to the mid brain."

"Did you see her face?"

"How did I get here?" the woman asked.

"Same way we all did," the Doctor reasoned, "and we've all forgotten."

"And who are you?"

As if on cue and pre-recorded message began.

"I am the Doctor, a Time Lord of Gallifrey. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will."

And then Star, "I am Star, a Time Lady from Gallifrey. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will."

Clara was heard after her, "I am Clara Oswald, human. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will. Do I really have to touch that worm thing?"

"Yes, you do," the Doctor replied in the recording.

"And change your shoes," pre-recorded Star called, "you can't run in heels."

"You're next, PSI."

"I am PSI," the man said in the recording, "augmented human. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will."

PSI clicked a small tab from the side if his head and looked at it, frowning.

When the woman came on the recording, "I am Saibra, mutant human. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will."

There was a click from the case and a bright light glowed as the case opened and a deep voice called, "this is a recorded message. I am the Architect. Your last memory is of receiving a contact from an unknown agency: me. Everything since has been erased from your minds." in the case they could make out the blurry figure of someone wearing a black cloak over their head, "now pay close attention to this briefing. It will happen once." the screen changed to show a desert planet under a red sun. With a single city, in the middle of the city, was a large building, "this is the Bank of Karabraxos. The most dangerous bank in the galaxy." it showed the screen reached down into the planets core, "a fortress for the super rich. If you can afford your own star system, this is where you keep it. No one sets foot on the planet without protocols. All movement is monitored, all air consumption regulated. DNA is authenticated at every stage. Each vault, buried deep in the planet, is accessed by a drop slot at the planets surface. The vault below is atomically sealed: an unbreakable lock, the atoms have all been scrambled. You're presence on this planet is unauthorised." there was a loud thump on the door of the room. "A team will have been despatched to terminate you."

"This is bank security!" a man shouted though the door, "Open up!"

"Your survival depends on following my instructions."

"Open up and you shall be humanely disposed of."

"There's another exit!" Saibra told them, "look!" she pointed at the doors opposite the main doors.

"All the information you need is in this case, acquire it!" the Architect finished.

PSI stepped forwards and inserted one of his fingers into a socket on the side of the screen.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor frowned.

"Downloading," he stated.

"Ah. Augmented, nice."

In the case was a small glass slide in a sealed box, the Doctor spotted this and quickly pocketed it.

"The bank of Karabraxos is impregnable," the Architect remarked.

"Please stand clear of the door," the security man order, "we have no wish to hurt you before your incineration."

"The bank of Karabraxos has never been breached."

"We've got to go, now!" Saibra calls as she stood at the other doors.

"You will rob the bank of Karabraxos."

The main doors began to splintering as the guards tried to break in, "run!" the Doctor yelled and the five of them ran out the other doors and down a corridor, "ok, ok, stop, stop, stop, far enough," they stopped running and caught their breath.

He turned to PSI, "augmented human. Computer augmented, yes? Mainframe in your head?"

"I'm a gamer," the man replied, "sort off, who put you in charge?"

"Liar," Star remarked, "that's a prison code on your neck."

"Ok, I'm a hacker. Slash bank robber."

"Good. You could be handy."

The Doctor pointed at Saibra, "mutant human. What kind of mutant?"

"Like he says why are you in charge now?" she asked.

"It's my special power, what's yours?"

Hesitantly, Saibra pulled of her glove, holding it to Clara. She looked back at the Doctor who nodded, taking Saibra's hand the woman turned into Clara before she let go turning back to herself again.

"Mutant gene." she explained, "I touch living cells, I can replicate the owner."

"Your face," Clara began, "when we first saw you..."

"I touched the worm. I replicated the owner."

"You replicate clothes too."

"I wear a hologram shell."

The Doctor pulled out the small box he took, "human cells. DNA from a customer, maybe? A disguise to get us in?"

"We're actually going to do it?" Clara asked, "Rob a bank?"

"We don't have a choice," Star turned to her, "it's this or we die. I'd rather rob a bank."

~.~

"How long can you maintain the image for?" the Doctor asked Saibra as the walked down the corridor. She was now disguised as an older bank customer. The others pretending to be her, or more his, security team.

"For as long as I like," she answered.

"Question one," the Doctor whispered, "robbing banks is easy if you've got a TARDIS. So why are we not using it?"

"Because we don't know where the old girl is?" Star countered.

"Good point. Where the TARDIS is probably should have been question one."

They froze hearing the sirens sound, "security breach," a voice announced, "repeat: security breach. We are currently in secure lock down."

Shutters locked the doors and windows, every exit sealed, leaving the group trapped.

"They know we're here," Saibra breathed.

A woman entered, dressed smartly, head of security by the looks of her. Behind her a creature with grey skin, a large head with two antennae, looking similar to radar, followed, bounded in an orange straitjacket, with guards at its sides.

"What is that?" Saibra hissed.

"I don't know," the Doctor stared at it, "hate not knowing."

The creature looked around the room, stopping in front of a black man in a suit.

"Excuse me, sir" the ginger woman also approached the man, "I regret to say, your guilt has been detected."

"What? That's...that's totally ridiculous," the man stuttered.

"Is it, sir? Then we shall certainly double check. The Teller will now scan through your thoughts for any criminal intent. Good luck, sir."

The Teller aimed its antennae at the customer, scanning him.

"It's like a sniffer dog," Star mused, "but telepathic and hunts guilt."

"What about our guilt?" Clara pointed out.

"The mans guilt is drowning ours out."

They watched as the man clutched his head, trying to fight the Teller off him.

"What's he doing?" Clara asked.

"If he has a plan, he's trying not to think of it," the Doctor answered her.

"Ever tried not thinking about something?" PSI remarked to Clara.

"No." she looked at him.

"You may have to," Saibra stated.

"Ah, criminal intent detected, how naughty," the woman commented sweetly, "what was your plan? Counterfeit currency in your briefcase, perhaps."

"No, not at all, for gods sake," the man fumbled.

"It doesn't really matter; we'll establish the details later. The Teller is never wrong when it comes to guilt. Your account will now be selected and obviously, your mind." she turned to the creature, "suppertime."

The creatures antennae joined together and a wave of energy attacked the man, making him scream in pain.

"What's it doing now?" Saibra whispered.

"Wiping his mind," the Doctor told her, "turning his brain into soup."

"Your next of kin will be informed," the woman remarked, "and incarcerated as a further inducement to honest financial transactions."

"We've got to help him." Clara determined.

"Too late." Star murmured.

"He's in agony, look at him." she looked as tears streamed down the mans face.

"Those aren't tears, Clara, that's soup." The Doctor told her.

The Teller pulled its antennae apart as the man stood swaying, his mind gone, his head flat.

"Account closed," the woman said, "take him away, he's ready for his close up."

The guards led the man away as the woman pulled out a small comm. device, "apologies for the disturbance. Everybody have a lovely day." she turned and walked out of the room with the other guards leading the Teller out with her.

~.~

The shutters opened and the group continued to booth, 714. The doors locking behind them.

"Deposit booth locking," a computer called, "please exhale, your valuables will be transported up from the vault."

Saibra exhaled onto the small device and the chute opened, another case revealing to them.

Saibra changed back to herself, no longer needing the disguise, "if he can break in and plant this thing then why does he need our help?" Saibra frowned.

"Depends what the thing is," the Doctor reasoned, taking the case and opening it to show a bomb of some sorts. "Ok. I'm not expert. But, fuses, timer. I'm gonna stick my neck it and say bomb." he turned to Psi, "bank schematic. Now."

Psi gave him a dirty look before turning to the wall, placing his fingers there, a projection of the bank appearing in front of them.

"The floor below is all service corridors," the Doctor remarked, kicking the ground "the veins and arteries of the bank. He wants us to blow through the floor."

"We'll die if we do that." Saibra cried.

"Doubt it," Star countered, "there's obviously a plan."

"What if the plan is, we're blowing the floor for someone else," Clara pointed out, "what if we're not supposed to make it out alive?"

"Then I would never have agreed. Clara, you know I wouldn't do anything if we would end up dead."

"Don't be so pessimistic," the Doctor agreed, "it'll affect team morale."

"What, and getting us blown up won't?" Saibra scoffed.

"Well only very, very briefly."

"Er, no, no way!" Psi shouted, "Do what you like, in taking my chances out there..."

"Psi, no..." Clara shook her head.

"No, these people, your mates, they lunatics!"

"I prefer insane," Star corrected, "actually I don't even prefer that anymore. Im not even 700 yet and feel like im having a midlife crisis."

"Star, you're rambling." Clara interrupted her.

"What do you want, Psi," the Doctor glared at him, "more than anything else? Whatever it is, it's in this bank. You agreed to rob the most impregnable bank in history; you must have had a very good reason. We all must have. Picture the thing you want most in the universe and decide how badly you want it. Well?"

"Still don't understand why you're in charge," he mumbled.

"Basically, it's the eyebrows." he flicked a switch and they all flattened themselves against the wall, expecting an explosion but none came.

"Nice", Star grinned, "Dimensional shift bomb. Sends the particles to a different plane."

They looked down the hole that had appeared on the floor, leading to the service levels, a network of pipes and tunnels.

"Come on then, Team Not Dead!" the Doctor ushered them all down, following last, using the bomb to cover the hole again, hurrying to catch up with the others.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Saibra asked, "What's the plan?"

"I don't know. The Architect set all this up, it should make sense. My personal plan is, a thing will probably happen quite soon."

"So that's it. That's it, that's your plan?"

"Yep."

"A thing will happen?"

"Yep, a thing. Probably."

"We make it up as we go along." Star informed the woman, "Always works better that way."

"Doctor! Star!" Clara called from down some more stairs as she and Psi found another case.

"There we go!" he cheered, "thing time!"

"How does he get the cases here?"

"Well obviously, by breaking into the bank in advance." Star rolled her eyes.

"How did he do that? And if he can do that, why does he need us."

"Not our problem."

"What is our prob...?" Psi began, when he started to flinch, "pro, pro, pro, pro...our problem."

"You ok?" Clara eyed him, concerned.

"Drive glitch." he slapped his neck.

"Guilt is our problem," the Doctor remarked, "guilt, in this bank, is fatal. The Teller can hear it. Ever since that first case was opened, we've been targets. The more we know about why we're here, the louder our guilt screams, that's why we wiped our memories. For our own safety. Now once I open this, I can't close it again."

"Would it be safer if only one of us opened it?"

"Go and volunteer then," Star looked at him.

"Er, why me?"

"You didn't need the memory worm, you're half computer, you can manually delete. You can clear your thoughts."

"Ok." he nodded, "gimme," the Doctor slid the case over to him and Psi looked inside, "no plans just...stuff. Equipment. I don't know what it is, you made as well look." he turned the case sound for them all to see. Inside were 7 small tubes with needles sticking out, "What are they?"

The Doctor looked at one, and pocketed them all, "not a clue."

"Interesting," Saibra murmured.

"What is?"

"You're lying."

"Er. Why would he be lying, lying, lying, lying, lying..." Psi glitched again, sinking to his knees. "Sorry. Stress. Drains batteries."

The Doctor soniced a box on the wall, opening it to find a socket box, "interface with this."

Clara and Saibra helped Psi up, "do we have time?"

"Why not? There's not immediate threat." the all tensed hearing a moaning in the distance.

"When will you learn to stop saying things like that," Star groaned.

"Sorry," he shot her a smile, "Clara, stay with Psi. Saibra, Star, let's go and investigate." he and Star walked off with Saibra following.

~.~

"Aren't going to ask?" the Doctor asked Saibra as they walked down another corridor.

"Why did you lie?" she looked at him, "those hypo things, you know what they are."

"An exit strategy, of sorts. How did you know I was lying?"

"Im usually the only one to know when he's lying." Star remarked, "as he knows when I am."

"I've had a lot of faces; I find them easy to read." Saibra told them.

"Quite a gift." The Doctor nodded.

"A gift?" she scoffed.

"Got us in here."

"Mutant gene. No one can touch me. If they do, I transform. Touch me, Doctor, and you'll be looking at yourself. I am alone!"

"Why?"

"Could you trust someone if they looked back at you out of your own eyes?"

They stopped at a cell on the wall, inside was the male customer, with his blank mind, a camera above him, blinking as it watched him. They stared in horror as Clara and Psi caught up.

"My god," Clara breathed, "why is he even still alive?"

"I don't know. But someone is watching," the Doctor frowned at the camera.

"Doctor," Psi turned to him as the moaning got closer, "however this goes, whatever happens...don't let me end up like that."

"In that case, best not stand around waiting to get found," Star turned and quickly walked off, not wanted to stay there for any longer, it just...disturbed her with them just there, empty. "come on."

They took of at a run down the corridors.

"Intruders in the service level," a voice announced.

"Now this says 'place to hide.'" the Doctor stopped at a metal grill, a sign, 'NO ENTRY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.'

The Doctor soniced it open and they all squeezed through, emerging in a dark chamber, a large chamber in the centre of the room.

"Where are we?" Saibra whispered.

The Doctor peered through the misty cage, spotting the Teller inside, "nobody move," he ordered, "nobody say a word."

They all froze, hearing the guards rush pass outside the grating.

"It's cocooned," Star realised, "forced hibernation."

"It's power is probably dormant." the Doctor added.

Clara tried to edge away, but accidentally knocked a chair, one of the antennae pressed itself against the glass.

"Clara! It's locked onto you," the Doctor told her, urgently, "it may still be asleep, don't wake it."

"Ok. How do I not do that?" she breathed.

"Like this." Star reached out and placed her fingers on the woman's temples making her slightly dazed and hypnotised before stepping between her and the Teller, making it lock onto her.

"Star!" the Doctor hissed, careful not to shout and wake it up, "what do you think you are doing?"

"Shh. I have this all under control." She stood in front of Clara, keeping calm and relaxed and she closed her eyes focusing on blocking her mind from the Teller.

She opened her eyes again, everyone relaxing, as the Teller fell back to sleep.

"Don't scare me like that again." the Doctor told her, hugging her.

"Don't worry, I only do what I know im capable of doing."

"This way," Psi whispered, pulling the grating from the other wall, they ran to the grilling. Star gently tugging Clara through before placing her fingers to her head again, releasing her.

"Warn me next time you do that." Clara rumbled, rubbing her head.

Star grinned at her, "You're welcome."

Saibra made her way over from where she kept look out from the other vent when more guards shouted, re-wakening the Teller.

"Saibra!" Psi yelled.

"She's still in here!" Clara gasped, "How do we get her out?"

There was a whistling at the Teller scanned Saibra's brain.

"It's scanning her brain," the Doctor muttered.

"Then what?" Psi asked, dreading the answer.

"Soup."

"Then help her!" Clara cried.

The Doctor pulled out an atomic shredder, "Saibra," he called to her.

"What do I do, how do I get away?" she asked.

"It's rooting through your brain. It's tasting all the secrets stashed inside. Any moment it will finish its sweep and start feasting on what's left."

"And then I'm one of those things we saw, sitting in a cage..."

"Yes."

"Can you not get me out?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know how once it's locked into your thoughts."

"Exit strategy," Saibra's gaze fell on the atomic shredder, "that means what I think it means, right?"

"Atomic shredder," he nodded.

"Painless?"

"And instant."

After a slight hesitation, Saibra grabbed the shredder, "when you meet the Architect, promise me something. Kill him."

The Doctor shook his head, "I hate him but I can't make that promise."

"Oh! A good man. I left it late to meet one of those." she pulled in the atomic shredder, screaming as she dissolved into nothing.

~.~

The group squeezed out of the grilling into a corridor near the vault.

"Right then," the Doctor looks around, spotting the vault, "vault, that's clear. What's not clear is what we do now..."

"Are you ok?" Clara asked him quietly.

"No, I'm an amnesiac robbing a bank, why would I be ok?"

"But with Saibra, what you had to do..."

"Saibra is dead, but we're not. Prioritise if you want to stay that way."

"Is that why you call yourself the Doctor?" Psi glared, "the professional detachment?"

Star advanced on Psi, dangerously, "listen, you. Saibra is dead. But we are not. After this is over, you can go and find a shoulder to cry on all you want but until then you need my dad. So shut up!" she turned and took the Doctors arm leading him to the vault door.

"Underneath it all, they're not really like that," Clara told Psi.

"It's very obvious you've been with them awhile." He turned to her.

"...why?"

"Because you are really good at the excuses."

"They're not excuses. I just know them, they're my family."

"Ha!" the Doctor cheered, finding another case in the booth next to the vault, "another gift from the architect. Shall we unwrap?"

"This is it!" Psi realised, "the mouth of the vault." he opened it to see a single jack lead and unusual arrangement of pins and a card 'Tech 251, Org 339, PV," written on. Clara pocketed the card.

Psi pulled the circuit panel of the wall, "right, the system looks like its time delayed. There are 24 lock codes I need to break." he used the jack lead to plug himself in to the circuit and began to crack the codes...when the heard the Teller.

"It's coming," Clara breathed, "we're trapped."

"Psi, how long?" the Doctor asked him.

"As long as it takes," he answered.

"It's locked in to one of our thought trails."

"We split up," Star decided, "minimise the brain signals."

Psi grabbed the Doctor arm, holding out his hand, "what happened to your professional detachment, Doctor?" the Doctor handed him one of the atomic shredders.

"No." Clara shook her head.

"In case it finds me. It's my choice."

"You don't use that, ok? Promise me."

The Teller screamed again, "ok, time to run!" Psi shouted.

The Doctor, Star and Clara ran off, leaving Psi to finish cracking the code.

"Separate!" the Doctor instructed, he and Star went down one corridor as Clara went down the one opposite.

They ran along the corridors, keeping away from the Teller when they heard Clara scream.

"Clara!" Star gasped, running back the way they came, the Doctor following.

Psi had obviously heard her scream as they heard him calling to the Teller, "come on! Come and find me. Every thief and villain in one big cocktail, I am so guilty. Every famous burglar in history is hiding in this bank right now! In one body. Come and feast. Clara," he called to her, "for what its worth and it might not be worth much. When your whole life flashes in front of you, you see people you love. People missing you...and I see no one."

He then screamed and they knew he had used the atomic shredder.

"Vault unlocking..." the computer announced, "failed."

~.~

The Doctor, Star and Clara met back at the junction at the vault corridor.

"It's not opening," Clara tried to prey the door open, "Psi, he died for nothing."

"Multiple locks," the Doctor muttered, "the last one still in place..." he pulled out the sonic and flashed it at the circuits, "atomic seal. Unbreakable. Even for me. The Architect would know that. He wouldn't bring us this far for nothing."

"And get two people killed."

"Exactly, there has to be some logic."

"Some logic?" Clara stared at him

"Come on Architect! What else have you got?"

They heard a rumble in the distance and the lights flickered.

"The storm!" Star exclaimed, as the final lock began to beep. "It's tripping the system. He must have known about the storm coming."

"How could he know when a storm would hit?" Clara shook her head.

"Oh, of course!" the Doctors eyes widened, "stupid, stupid Doctor. Of course, of course."

"Of course what?"

"Whoever planned all this, they're in the future. It's not just a bank heist; it's a time travel heist. We've been sent back in time to the exact moment of the storm, to be in the exactly right place when it hits because that's the only time the bank is vulnerable!"

"Vault unlocked." the computer announced, the vault door opening.

"The bank is now open," Star remarked as they walked in, the Doctor hitting a switch closing the door behind them.

In the room were thousands of safes, all numbers and labelled, all set up like a labyrinth.

"Come on," the Doctor led them further in. He flicked a safe and it opened, "explains why we're not here in the TARDIS."

"Sorry, what?" Clara frowned.

"The solar disruption would have made navigation impossible. The one time the bank is vulnerable, is the one time we can't just land."

"Clara," Star looked at her, "what was on the card you took from the case?"

Clara pulled it out, letting them look. "Tech?"

"Technology," the Doctor nodded, "everything's currency in a bank. 251 find it."

They split up, looking down the different rows of safes.

"Found it," Star called, not long later, inside was a small silver circuit.

"Neophyte circuit," the Doctor pocketed it, "I've only ever seen one once before. It can reboot any system. Replace any lost data."

"Psi. This is what he came for." Clara said, "His reward. He lost all his memories."

"So what did Saibra come for?" He wondered.

It didn't take them long to find the safe labelled Org 339. Inside was a small bottle.

"Gene suppressant," the Doctor also pocketed that, "the gene that made her transform, this would destroy it forever."

"She wanted to be normal," Clara remarked.

"I used to feel like that," Star murmured.

"What?" Clara looked at her, hearing her even though the Doctor didn't.

"What?"

"What did you say?"

"I said what?"

"No before that."

"You said what."

Clara shook her head at her, knowing she wouldn't get an answer from her.

"Everyone had a weakness," the Doctor shrugged, "so the big question is this, what did we come for?"

"PV," Clara read the card.

"Private vault. Karabraxos' own fortune?" he turned the corner and jumped seeing the Teller there.

~.~

The trio stood in the office of the woman they saw earlier, Ms Delphox or something, all three of them handcuffed. The Teller before them, in its straitjacket. The neophyte circuit and gene suppressant on the desk.

"Intruders are most welcome," Delphox remarked coldly, "they remind us all that the bank is impregnable. Helps morale to have a few of you scatters about the place. Preferably on view." she waved her hand and a guard turned in the screen, showing them all the people who have had their minds wiped by the Teller, "are you ready for your close up?"

Star glanced at two guards by the door, one seeming to look intimidating while the other had a helmet on, she hid her smile.

"If your thinking of ways to escape, the Teller will know before you even make a move," Ms Delphox continued, seeing them look at the door, thankfully missing the wink, "you'll never be bothered by all that thinking again."

"Hmm, useful species," Star nodded.

"Last of its kind. And we've signed an exclusive deal."

"Hmm, must be noisy in its head. Painful to listen to so much chatter, so many secrets must drive it wild."

That was what she felt when she first discovered she was telepathic, it was hard to act like she couldn't hear other people's thoughts, but she soon learnt out to block them all out unless she wanted to read their minds.

"How can you force it to obey?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, everything has a price tag, I think you'll find," Ms Delphox smiled when there was another rumble. She turned to a guard, "storms getting worse. Customers are leaving. Director Karabraxos will be...concerned. Our jobs will be on the line..."

"You're scared." the Doctor noted.

"I'm terrified. I have the disadvantage of knowing Karabraxos personally."

"If you don't like your boss, why stay?"

"My face fits, if you'll excuse me, I must take the Teller to its hibernation." she turned to the guards at the door, "you two, dispose of our guests," she and the Teller left the room.

"Finally," Star laughed, the hand cuffs slipping off, "hello Saibra. Psi."

The two guards uncuffed the Doctor and Clara before the guard took of his helmet to reveal Psi and Saibra transformed again.

"Oh." the Doctor blinked.

"What looked like death," Psi smiled, "was actually a teleport!"

"Oh my god!" Clara laughed.

"It's good, eh? You think were dead so the Teller thinks we're dead! Play the creature at his own mind games."

"Sorry what?" the Doctor shook his head, "you're alive?"

"Yeah, we're alive." Saibra laughed, "look at us, all alive."

"No, no, no, no. Not dead, alive."

"There's an escape ship in orbit," Psi told them, tossing the Doctor the hypo, "takes you right there. Oh and there's this big blue box, is that yours?"

"Well, this is good, I suppose..." the Doctor commented, "You'll be able to resume the mission," he handed Saibra the gene suppressant, "gene suppressant, antidote for your condition," and handed Psi his circuit, "memory giver. All your yesterdays. There you go, jobs paid in full. Clever old Architect."

"Very clever," Saibra agreed.

"Still hate him, though."

"Me too."

"How were you paid?" Psi asked.

"I don't know. There's something in the private vault."

The group head back down the corridors to the private vault, to find out when they came for, "what's that?" the Doctors spotted a loom of tubes and wires running up the side of the shaft.

"Supply line," Psi analysed, "its feeding oxygen to the private vault. There's another for water. Your basic life support."

"For a bank vault?" Clara frowned.

"Someone likes to hang out with their wealth," Star reasoned.

~.~

They squeezed through the shaft and into the private vault. A room full of priceless artefacts, an original Shakespeare folio, a Turner, a Ming case, a Faberge egg, one of everything. An antique desk at the end if the room with Karabraxos sitting wither her back to them in a chair behind the desk.

"Wow," Star breathed, looking around, "I know a certain uncle who would be very at home here."

"Irving?" the Doctor glanced at her.

"Definitely Uncle Irving."

Her uncle Irving, the Doctors older brother loved ancient artefacts and paintings. He used to have his own collections back on Gallifrey.

"Director Karabraxos?" the Doctor called, "er, excuse us. We've come to rob you. So if you want to put your hands above your head or..."

Karabraxos turned to them, looking exactly like Ms Delphox. "Or?" she asked. "You didn't bring any weapons. That's a bit of an oversight."

"You think," Star pulled her dagger out.

Karabraxos reached for her communicator, "security, Karabraxos here."

"You're Karabraxos?" the Doctor stared.

"One moment."

"Director Karabraxos?" Ms Delphox came in the line. "Is there a problem?"

"Intruders in the private vault. Send the Teller, Ms Delphox, please. I want to know how they got in, then I want to wipe their memories. See to it."

"She's a clone," the Doctor realised.

"Only way I can't trust my own security," Karabraxos nodded, "I have a clone in every facility," she spoke back into the communicator, "get it right away."

"Yes, of course," Ms Delphox replied.

"And then turn in your credentials. You're fired, with immediate effect."

"But please, I've been in your service..."

"Ever since the last one let me down and I was obliged to kill it. I can't believe you're putting me threw it again," she hung up. "My clone. And yet she doesn't protest. Pale imitation, really. I should sue!"

"You're killing her?" Clara gasped, "But you said..."

"Fired? I put all the used clones into the incinerator. Can't have too many of moi scattered around."

"You don't get on with your own clone?" Psi frowned.

"She hates her own clones," the Doctor corrected, "She burns her own clones. Frankly, you're a career breaks for the right therapist."

"3, 2, 1," Star smirked.

"Shut up, just everybody shut up!"

"There it is."

"What is this display now, as amusing as you are..." Karabraxos began.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shutterty up up up!" he turned to Saibra, "what did you say. What did you say. About your own eyes? De-shut up, say it again."

"How can you trust anyone if they look back at you out of your own eyes," she recited.

He turned it Star, "I know one thing about the Architect. What is it that I know? There's one thing I've known from the very started."

"Go on," she smirked in amusement.

"I hate him. He's overbearing, he's manipulative, he likes to think that he's very clever, I hate him. Star, I hate the Architect!"

"I think he hates you too," she laughed.

"What in the name of sanity is going on in this room?" Karabraxos demanded.

"We're getting sanity judgement from a self burner." the Doctor scoffed, "do you mind if I borrow a wee bit of paper?"

He grabbed a pen and piece of paper from the desk, scribbling down a number.

"And what are you doing now?" Karabraxos asked.

"I'm giving you my phone number."

"Why?"

"Well I thought you might like to call me someday. Sorry, I thought we were getting on famously, am I misreading the signals or something?" he folded the paper and handed it to the woman, on the top half he wrote 'We're time travellers' on.

"You do have a habit of being wrong in this regeneration," Star pointed out.

He ignored her as there was another rumble from the storm, "oh, boy that was a big one, wasn't it? You bank is about to lose for good, Karabraxos. If I were you, I'd get going."

"Don't mind us," Star remarked, "we'll stay and burn."

Karabraxos eyed them, before quickly grabbing a small suitcase and filling it with artefacts.

"Hard to know what to take," the Doctor said, "greatest treasures of the universe and just one suitcase."

"Doctor, Star," Clara turned to them, "what's the plan? Is there a plan?"

"We can use the shredders," Saibra told her, "get back to the ship."

"They're not shredders," Star shook her head, "they're teleports. And wanna know what's even more interesting about them?"

"What?"

"There's 7 of them."

"Hey, give me a call sometime," the Doctor called to Karabraxos as she entered the lift to leave the bank

"You'll be dead," she looked at him, bemused.

"Yeah, you'll be old and full of regret for the things you can't change," he mimed her calling him as the doors shut.

"Doctor, what the hell is going in?" Psi demanded.

"Are you remembering?" Clara frowned.

"No, not a thing," he sighed, "but I'm understanding."

"What are you understanding?"

"I'm not sure yet. I need my memory back. And I think there is only one way to do that..."

"Which would be...?"

The lift came back down.

"Soup," he stated.

The doors opened and the Teller stepped out.

"Hello big man," Star looked at him, "I hope your hungry, you have a volunteer." she stepped out of the way as the Teller pulled the Doctor into its telekinetic grip.

"Doctor!" Clara cried.

"No...no, let it take me," he grunted, "let it read me. It's the only way."

"Well, actually I could go into you mind and see what's missing," Star shrugged.

"Oh, now you say," he groaned as he fell to his knees in pain.

"Sorry."

"It will kill you!" Clara yelled.

"What have I told you about pessimism?" he convulsed in pain, "right that it, there are so many memories in err, feast on them. Knock yourself it! Scarf, bow tie, bit embarrassing. What do you think of the new look? I was hoping for minimalism, but I think I came back with magician! Can you see the block? Tell me why I'm here! Show me why I'm here! Show me!"

The Teller was able to give him back his memories, allowing him to see that Karabraxos had called him, he had organised everything, he was the Architect, they had chosen to wipe their minds.

The Doctor flopped into the floor as the Teller released him, "do you see?" he looked at the Teller, "why we came? Why we're here? We had to delete our own memories, otherwise you'd have known, and then she'd have know. Because you're mentally linked."

"But she's gone." Star told the Teller, "They've all gone. They have no power over you now. You can do what you want. What you have always wanted to do."

The Teller walked to the safe, mentally unlocking the door.

"It knows the combination!" Psi gasped.

"Of course it doe. It was linked with Karabraxos."

"What exactly are we doing here?" Clara ordered, "That thing killed people."

"And you wouldn't?" Star countered, "to protect everything you loved."

The safe door opened and inside was another Teller, lying in the corner of the room, straw in the ground, weak and un-nourished.

"There she is," the Doctor smiled. "Not the last of its species. The last two." he hurried to the creature's side and unchained it, "it's ok. It's alright."

"Exit strategy," Saibra realised, "we've got 7 shredders."

"Exactly! This wasn't a bank heist, it never was. It was a rescue mission, for a whole species. Flesh and blood, the last currency."

The room shook form another rumble, the storm was getting worse.

"So, big man," Star smirked at the Teller, "do you wanna go home?"

The Teller let out a mighty howl, very happy to go home.

~.~

They had taken the Tellers to a distant planet. Peaceful and quiet with the sounds of birds chirping, the perfect place from the creatures.

"So much mental traffic in the universe," Star remarked softly as they watched them walked off, side by side, "solitude is the only peace."

~.~

They set the TARDIS in the time vortex, all laughing as the Doctor told them jokes, eating Chinese takeaway in the console room "...scary hombres, Says to me, what do you think of our Leaning Tower of Pisa," he tilted his head to side, "it looks ok to me!"

After they had finished their food, they said their goodbyes. Psi with his memories back and Saibra was normal, no more mutating.

Psi had offered his services if they ever needed him for another bank heist and Saibra had been very happy to give them all hugs without turning into them before they both left.

Star piloted them back to Clara time as the Doctor cleared away the takeaway boxes. "There we are. Not even 5 minutes after we left."

"Go have fun," the Doctor remarked, "don't do anything we wouldn't do."

"It's a date!" Clara grinned, "I've just realised. I'm going for another meal now!"

"Oh, don't worry," Star waved her off, "calories consumed on the TARDIS have no lasting effect."

Clara stopped at that, "you're kidding."

"I can't believe you fell for that," she scoffed, "it's a time machine not a miracle worker!"

Clara rolled her eyes at her, "see you. Don't rob any bank."

"Don't rob any banks...what?" the Doctor looked at her, mischievously.

"Without me."

"Course not boss," the Time Lords smirked at her as she left.

"See." Clara pointed at Star, "I am the boss. See ya!" she left the TARDIS.

"Im still not going to clean the pear up!" Star called after her

"Robbing a bank!" the Doctor cheered a he got them back into the vortex, "robbing a whole bank! Beat that for a date!"

**Macbabe01: Since you mentioned that I can totally see the resemblance. Divergent is a great series. :)**


	6. The caretaker

"If you think you're tired imagine how Clara's feeling," the Doctor remarked as he half carried-half guided Star to her room.

"I just thought it would be nice to do them while we remembered to go," She countered, yawning half way through her sentence.

They had a couple of short adventure with Clara lately, Star had been insistent that they kept the adventures up for Clara, despite the woman always seeming tired or stressed.

They'd been tied up to some pillars on a desert planet, sweating as the twin suns poured down on them, it would have been easy to get out had Clara put on the correct jacket with the vibro cutters. But they had managed with a bit of fussing and struggling, Star had managed to get free, gone to the TARDIS gotten the spare vibro cutters to get them free before the sand piranhas reached them. Star had insulted the natives, so it was her fault they had gotten into the mess.

They had also gone to see fish people under water, literally underwater on a planet completely underwater, with tunnels for people to walk through to look at the beauty of the planet. All was going well until Star had insulted the locals.

They had also gotten fired at by a group of soldiers because Star AND the Doctor had insulted them, but what kind of soldiers fired at people just because of a silly little remark?

Each time, Clara was dressed up as though ready to go out on a date, which she had been doing. Going on an adventure, getting dropped back to her flat and then going out in a date a few minutes after, sometimes not even going to her flat, getting dropped straight off at the venue for her date.

"She hasn't complained about being tired yet anyway." She mumbled.

This was her way of letting the woman know that she knew she was always busy with her boyfriend and was on purposely keeping both lifes separate, they knew nothing of her boyfriend and she assumed her boyfriend knew nothing about them.

One day she would win and the two separate lifes would merge together.

"I think I'll be the first to complain," the Doctor grumbled.

~.~

They materialised the TARDIS in Clara's flat and the woman ran straight in. "so, where we off to?"

"Clara," the Doctor greeted, "you look lovely today. Have you had a wash?"

"Why are you being nice?"

"Because it works on you."

"Listen," Star cut in, "there's no trip today. We're really busy. May take a while."

"Busy how?" she asked.

"Just...busy," she moved the scanner out of the way.

"You're being mysterious, and do you know what that means?"

"We're mysterious people," the Doctor remarked.

"Hmm. It means that you are very clever people making the mistake, common mistake very clever people; of assuming that everybody else is stupid. Where are you going?" she tried to grab the scanner but Star switched it to a view of the galaxy.

"If you weren't stupid you would have known I would do that," she stuck her tongue out.

"We're just doing some undercover stuff," the Doctor tried waving her off, "deep cover."

"Can you do deep cover?" Clara asked.

"What do you mean?" he looked insulted at that.

"Have you seen you?"

"Of course I can do deep cover."

"Where, the magic circle?" she giggled.

Star snapped her fingers, opening the TARDIS doors, "we'll see you when we see you. Goodbye, Clara."

Clara snapped her fingers and the doors closed, "when's that?"

This time the Doctor snapped his fingers opening the door, "when we see you."

"Hmm. Hmm." Clara eyed them both closely, "I'll be sure to have a wash."

"Excellent." The Doctor nodded, "I was meaning to bring it up."

Clara shut the doors as she left, opening them again, pointing at her eye, showing that she was watching them before leaving again.

Star got the scan back up to show East London, more importantly, very close to Clara's school. They'd found a bleep, they didn't know what it was yet, but it was close, all they needed was to go undercover at Clara school and get close enough to whatever it was they needed to get rid off.

~.~

Star grinned as she and the Doctor stood waiting for the secretary for the Head Chair man and Coal Hill school allow them to speak to Mr Chesterton himself. They thought it was best to make an appointment with the man.

"Mr Chesterton!" Star cheered.

"Yes…?" the man eyed them both as he sat at his desk. "How may I help you?" he raised an eyebrow at them. The man was quite tall with greying hair in a dark suit while the girl had bright ginger hair with a green corset and a bowtie…? Very strange the teenage fashion was these days, it was much better in the 60's.

"I have heard so much about you!" she eagerly shook the mans hand, "you don't know me but you knew me niece. She went by the name Susan Foreman."

"Yes?" the man continued to eye her. There was no possible way Susan Foreman was her niece, at least not the one he knew.

"Been a long time Chesterfield." The Doctor grinned at one of his first companions.

Mr Chesterton began to smile at that, now knowing who the man before him was. The only man in the universe to call him that, "it can't be…Doctor?" he gasped.

"Chesterfield." He nodded, shaking his hand, "you haven't changed."

"Gotten old." He shrugged.

"Well it has been 50 years." The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets.

"So it has. Still a grumpy, stubborn old man?"

"Yes!" Star answered for him.

"Im sorry," Ian turned to her, "you said…"

"Ian, meet Star." the Doctor introduced.

The man's mouth fell open, "you're the shining star we've all heard so much about?"

"That depends how much you know?" she smirked.

"Yes. Susan said you were her favourite aunt. Apparently you were the most fun." He shook his head, "so what can I do for you?" the Doctor he knew would never drop by just for a social call.

The Doctor smiled as he told the man about their plan and what was needed to be done.

Ian had been all for their plan, as long as they stuck to it.

~.~

So there they were undercover at Coal Hill School. Well, the Doctor was. Ian had offered Star a place as a student for a long as needed, so she was used the name Nicola Smith again as a student who was here for a few days and the Doctor was the caretaker.

She was very amused by the Doctor's idea of deep cover; all he had done was change his coat, thinking she wouldn't recognise him. At least she had put the school uniform on.

He had just introduced himself to the other teachers in the staff room as she wonder down the corridor, passing Clara and another teacher, Danny Pink, Clara new boyfriend.

"Morning, miss. Sir." she smiled politely, passing through the middle of them as they stood discussing the Doctor.

She chuckled to herself as Clara stared after her, "I have, er, left some marking," Clara told Danny, "assembly. Chip chop. Off you pop. Catch you in a bit. Excuse me." Star stood out side the staff room grinning at Clara as she approached, "what are you doing?" she hissed.

Star merely walked into the staff room as the Doctor looked at a plan of the building; he quickly pocketed it as they entered. "So, you recognised me then." he remarked.

"You're wearing a different coat," Clara countered.

"I said it was a stupid cover," Star sighed.

"Why are you here?" she looked between them, "where's Atif, what have you done with him."

"He's fine," Star waved her off, "hypnotised. Thinks he's got the flu...and a flying car...and 3 wives. I might have gotten a bit carried away. He's fine though! Promise."

"Is it aliens? Oh my god. Is that why you're here? Are there aliens?"

"Its assembly," the Doctor said, "you'd better get going. Go and worship something."

"Are there aliens in this school?"

"Listen, it's lovely talking to you, but I've got to get on. I'm a caretaker now. Look I've got a brush."

Clara turned to Star, "Star, is there an alien in this school?"

"Yes," she nodded, "2 of them, we call them Time Lords. We're here, we're aliens."

"The walls need sponging and there's a sinister puddle," the Doctor added.

"You can't do this," Clara shook her head; "you can not pass yourself of as real people among actual people."

"I live among otters once for a month. Well, I sulked."

"We had a fight," Star explained, "I won, of course. So I made him live with Otters for a month."

"Human beings are not otters!" Clara cried.

"Exactly," the Doctor snapped his fingers, "it'll be even easier."

"Ok. One question. And you will answer this question. Are the kids safe?"

"No." Star answered, "Nobody is safe."

"But soon the answer is yes, everybody is safe," the Doctor added, "If you let us get on. Now, pretend you don't know us. Stay out of my way. The less you know the better. I'll explain later. Go and sing with the otters." he walked off.

"Hate you," Clara grumbled.

"Doesn't everyone?" Star countered.

"It's a perfectly normal reaction." the Doctor agreed.

"Come on, miss. It assembly." Star led Clara off.

She hated this plan; he had sent her back to school. She hated school, she already knew more than Clara, she'd punch him if she ended up corrected the teachers every hour. She wasn't even needed to be here, see could easily stay in the TARDIS and keep her eye on the area. It would be a lot safer if she did that than hiding in a school, learning things she had known for centuries already.

~.~

Star was completely bored as she sat in Clara's English class as one boy, Kelvin, read Pride and Prejudge out loud. She'd gotten the fact wrong, it was written in 1796 but Clara had written 1797 on the board, but Star was too bored to correct her, not even listening as Kelvin read, drawing a small sketch of the Pandorica on the inside cover of the book.

She only perked up as the Doctor climbed on a ladder at the window behind her. Clara stood on the spare chair to speak with him, clearly annoyed they were at her school.

"Can I help you, Mr Smith?" she asked him sweetly.

"Wrong," he stated.

"I'm sorry."

"On the board. Wrong. Wrong."

"Oh no, no, no. You don't do this: you are the caretaker, this is not what you do."

"Just taking care."

"Not your area!"

"Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in 1796."

Clara cleared her throat, addressing the class who watched in amusement, "this is Mr Smith, the temporary caretaker, and he's a bit confused."

"Not in 1797," he continued, "because she didn't have the time. She was busy doing all..."

"Oh what? I suppose she was your bezzie mate, was she? And you and your daughter went on holidays together and then you got kidnapped by Boggons from space and then you all formed a band and met Buddy Holly."

"No, miss," Star called, holding up the book, "it says in the bio at the back of the book."

Clara gave her an unamused look, "Get down." She glared at the Doctor.

"Boggons?" he frowned.

"Go." The bell rang, signalling the end of class. "Right that it. Well done, Kelvin. Get going. See you all in a couple of days. Thanks very much."

"Miss, what about our homework?" Kelvin called as Clara hurried out the room.

"Who asks for homework?" Clara appeared back at the doorway, "amateur."

Star quickly got up to follow Clara as the Doctor climbed back down the ladder.

She passed Clara as she was stopped by a tall boy, she headed over to the Doctor as he spoke to two male teachers, one Star knew was Clara's boyfriend, Danny and another one with floppy hair and a bow tie, he was someone in the English department.

"Of course Danny Pink here is your man, Mr Smith," the man was saying as he and Danny spoke to the Doctor, "5 years military experience, sergeant, here and Afghanistan, so electrics, boilers, if you need a hand, give him a dot."

"I've helped Atif with a couple of things," Danny agreed.

"I'm sure I won't need you, Sergeant." the Doctor waved him off, "Fully qualified," the box sparked, "You best get back to your PE class."

"Oh, I teach maths."  
"Do you? What, in emergencies?"  
"No. I'm a maths teacher."  
"Yeah, he's a maths teacher." The other teacher nodded. Glass broke in the distance, "Mohammed put that down." He hurried off.

"How does that work?" the Doctor frowned, "What if the kids have questions?"  
"About what?" Danny shook his head.  
"Maths."

"I answer them. I'm a maths teacher."  
"But he said you were a soldier."

"Yeah. I was a soldier, now I'm a maths teacher."  
"But what about all the PE?"  
"I don't teach PE. I'm not a PE teacher."  
"Sorry, that seems very unlikely."

"Er, excuse me." Clara cut in, setting a watering can down, "Mr Pink, I think class 9M4 are waiting. And St…Nicola," she corrected herself quickly; "don't you have a lesson?"

"Um…" she rummaged in the school blazer pocket, looking at the piece of paper with the classes Ian had set her in. she had asked for lessons were she wouldn't end up having to correct the teachers, basically no physics lessons. "Maths in class 9M4. Oh, that's with you Mr Pink." She grinned at him.  
"Yes, you better run along, Sergeant." The Doctor nodded, "That ball isn't going to kick itself, is it? "  
"I'm not a PE teacher, I'm a maths teacher." Danny told him.  
"Nope, sorry. No, I can't retain that. I've tried. It's just not going in."  
Danny shook his head and left. Star turned to follow when Clara grabbed her arm.

"Don't even think about trying to annoy him…threaten him…or…anything." She warned.

Star looked insulted, "what do you take me for, Miss Oswald, it's not like a have a dagger under my school uniform," she chuckled to herself as she left. Leaving Clara talking to the Doctor as he finished sorting out their plan.

"Oh, Star," the Doctor called after her, "put this above that door as you enter." He handed her a small black device.

"Um, what is that?" Clara asked, eying the device.

"Sorry, cant talk. I have a lesson to go to, miss. Best not be late on my first day." Star smiled as she turned and followed Danny off to the Maths classroom.

~.~

Danny turned back to the class as he finished his diagram on the board. A right angled triangle, labelled A, B, and C. Pythagoras' theorem and they were finding the hypotenuse. Star mentally groaned in boredom. They did Pythagoras' theorem as a fifth year notice when they were 12 years old. It was easy yet the class of 15-16 year old humans were having trouble understanding what they had to do.

"Ok," Danny clapped his hands together, "if two sides of a right angled triangle are 4cm and 7cm, how do we find the hypotenuse?" Blank faces, "we did this yesterday. Look back in your books." The children looked in their books, still blank faced.

So Star raised her hand, hoping that if the question was answered they would be able to actually do some work.

"Yes!" Danny pointed at her, "Nicola, wasn't it?"  
"Yes, sir," she nodded.

"Go on."

"AB2 = 42 + 72.

So AB2 =16 + 49.

So then AB2 = 65.

So the hypotenuse is 8.1cm to 1 decimal place."

"Yes!" Danny exclaimed, very excited that someone had answered him and gotten the answer corrected. Although hearing the answer seemed to perk the kids up a bit, all murmuring that they knew the answer but found it too easy to need to answer it.

Humans.

~.~

'_Star, where are you?'_ the Doctor called to her.

'_In Geography, bored out of my mind.'_ She replied, sitting tapping her pen and the teacher drawled on. The only good thing was the next to her, Courtney Woods or something, she made the lesson more interesting by disrupting the teacher.

'_Well I need you back in the TARDIS.'_

'_Give me 5 minutes.' _

She pursed her lips, thinking of a way to get her out of the lesson; she only needed something simple, that would get her gone for just a few minutes that wouldn't cause any suspicion. Simply asking to go to the toilet wouldn't work, the teacher didn't let them leave the lesson, the teacher wouldn't believe her if she said she felt sick, spilling the bottle of water that the girl next to her had on the table could work but was too boring. Now, a nose bleed that would be fun. She pulled a face, straining as she tried to make her nose bleed, smiling to herself as it work. she never normal did something like this, but it didn't mean she couldn't and she did love the attention it got her.

"Miss!" she called, holding her nose for added affect, "I have a nose bleed. Got any tissues. Its quite bad."

Courtney grimaced, and moved her chair back.

"Oh!" the teacher blinked, "no...go and get some from the caretaker. Courtney go with her."

"No! I can manage by myself." But Courtney was already up, more than happy to get out of class early, even if it was because a weird girl got a random nose bleed. She closed her eyes as they headed to the caretakers room, the Doctor would not be happy with her bringing a human with her.

"Now we're in business." Star heard the Doctor as he entered the TARDIS, "Let's see the lie of the land. Time to see what's going on."  
"Hello?" Courtney called, barging into the room, "Oi. What are you doing? Are you in there?" she frowned at the TARDIS as green light flooded out of it.  
Star rolled her eyes, knowing the Doctor was pretending he wasn't there in hope the girl would leave, "there was a bit of a spillage in Geography. Not my fault I had a nose bleed and the teacher didn't have anything to clean the blood up with."

'_Couldn't think of a way to get out without bring a pudding brain with you?'_ the Doctor asked Star and he came out of the TARDIS.

She shot up an apologetic grin, _'best way to get out.'_

"cant you read?" he asked.  
"Course I can read." She scoffed, "Read what?"

"The door. It says, Keep Out."  
"It says, Go Away Humans." Star corrected, stepping back to look at the sign _'You lost your temper in the middle of writing it.'_

"Right," he nodded, looking at the sign, seeing Star was correct.  
"What were you doing in there?" Courtney asked, "What's that box?"  
"The caretaker's box. Every caretaker has their own box."  
"It says Police."  
"Exactly, there's a policeman in there, in case of emergencies and children." He handed her a pack of blue paper towels, "Towels, there, go."  
"What was that green glow? There was a green glow coming from in there. What was it?"

"Of course there was. What's a policeman without a death ray?" the bell went signalling the end of class, "Oh, listen, there's the bell. Off you go. Haven't you got shoplifting to go to?"

"I'm going to tell the Headmaster."  
"Oh, yes, fine." The Doctor said, trying to get rid of the child, "Well, run along, you're running out of time. "  
"For what?" she frowned.

"Everything. Human beings have incredibly short life spans. Frankly, you should all be in a permanent state of panic. Tick tock, tick tock."  
"You're weird."

"Yes, I am," the Doctor nodded, "What about you?" he asked her.  
"I'm a disruptive influence." She grinned smugly.  
"Good to meet you." he shook her hand, mockingly.  
"And you." she mimicked him.  
"Now get lost."  
"Okay. Thanks for getting my out of lesson, Nicola." Clara entered as she left, "Hello, miss. Love to the Squaddie."  
"Sorry," Clara blinked, "what did you say?" she turned to the Time Lords, "What was she doing in here?"

"I had a nose bleed in Geography." Star told her.

"Were you THAT bored?"

"Yup!"

"Now, I imagine you have many questions." The Doctor remarked, "Fire away. We won't answer any of them."  
"What were they like?" she asked.

"What were who like?"  
"The others before me. Did they let you get away with this kind of thing? This school is in danger."  
"Well, it's lucky we're here, then."  
"From you."  
"Me?"

"Both of you."

"Us?" Star frowned. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…me?"  
"You wouldn't be here if there wasn't an alien threat nearby." She commented, "Your strategy for dealing with it involves endangering this school."  
"You don't know that." The Doctor shook his head.

"Maybe I just wanted to see an old companion." Star defended.  
"I don't know anything because you haven't told me anything," Clara continued, "Which means I wouldn't approve, which means you are endangering this school." the Doctor flashed the sonic, revealing a green globe, "What's that?"  
"It's a scanner. I'm scanning." He said. "Why do we keep you?"

"Because the alternative would be developing a conscience of your own or Star'll end up killing you," Clara replied her eyes on the scanner, "Scanning for what?"  
"Any alien technology in this vicinity should show up." the Doctor told her.

"I used to have a teacher exactly like you once." Star remarked to her.  
"You still do." Clara bent forwards, looking closer at the scanner, "Pay attention."

The scanner showed a creature in a machine, similar to Davros in a way.

"What the hell is it?"  
"A Skovox Blitzer." The Doctor explained, "One of the deadliest killing machines ever created. Probably homed in here because of artron emissions. You've had enough of them in this area over the years. There's enough explosive in its armoury to take out the whole planet."  
"Then leave it alone."  
"Sooner or later it will creep from its hidey-hole and some military idiot will try to attack it." he turned the image off, "The world is full of PE teachers." He walked into the TARDIS, Star and Clara following.

"So, your insanely dangerous plan is…?" Clara inquired. The Doctor held up a digital watch with a metal bracelet. "A new watch. Tiny bit disappointed."  
"Just watch," Star grinned, and the Doctor put the watch on, pressing a button, disappearing.  
"Doctor?" Clara called, "Oi! Ow! Did you just flick my nose? You're invisible. Ha, ha! Oh, my God, that's incredible."  
"Correct. I am invisible and I am incredible." The Doctor spoke, though they couldn't see him, "It's simply a matter of reversing light waves. Hang on, I'm coming back."  
"All right, where are you?"

"Other side of the console," Star laughed, leaning back, and Clara realised the Doctor was behind her, because if he wasn't then she should have fallen back unless she had some really good balance, which wasn't possible since half the time the girl ended up tripping down the steps and landing on her face.  
The Doctor reappeared behind Star, just as Clara thought, "So, I give the Blitzer a tiny whiff of non-threatening alien tech, I lead it back here, but I don't want it to scan me, hence invisible."

"We." Star corrected, they had two watches, if he didn't want her to go with him then he shouldn't have made another watch for her. Well, he shouldn't have left the supplies out for her to make her own watch. Well, he shouldn't have left the supplies in a place she would find them, which he had locked in a chest under the console. Still, she had her own watch so she was going too.  
"So you're, you're leading the thing here?" Clara asked, not liking that part of their plan, "To a school? My, my school?"  
"My school? Oh, that is telling. This is the only suitably empty place in the area. I've set up a circle of time mines around the school. Chronodyne generators. Bit unstable." He threw Clara one of the generators, "I switch them on, the Blitzer gets sucked into a big old time vortex, billions of years into the future. It's dead easy. Tiny bit boring. I'll need a book and a sandwich. Star'll have time to sharpen her dagger."  
"You're not doing this alone." Clara shook her head, handing him the generator.  
"We don't need you this time, Clara." Star told her.

"We'll see you tomorrow." The Doctor turned to her, "We'll go somewhere nice. Ancient Egypt. Crocodilopolis. They worship a big crocodile there, so the name is a useful coincidence."

"And it's not the ticking crocodile, I already check." She pouted; she had been disappointed that it wasn't the crocodile from Peter Pan. She loved that croc, he was so adorable.

"Go and canoodle with your boyfriend." The Doctor smiled at Clara, "Come on. I wasn't born yesterday. Far from it."

"Really?" Star frowned, "you like him."  
"You did recognise him." Clara gasped.  
"Possibly reminded me of a certain dashing young time traveller." He nodded.  
"Oh, of course you recognised him. Im Sorry. Stupid. I, I underestimated you."  
"It's easily done. There's a lot to estimate."  
"And you, you like him?"  
"Yes, I like him very, very much. Go home and canoodle. Doctor's orders. Come on."

"No!" Star cried, "I don't like him. Don't canoodle him!"  
"Just this once, I'm doing what I'm told." Clara grinned.  
"Oh, sing hosanna." The Doctor smiled.  
"Ah. So easy." She left the TARDIS.

"How can you like him?" Star glared at the Doctor.

"What's not to like," the Doctor shrugged, "bowties a bit embarrassing, but still…"

Star stared at him a moment before shaking her head. He thought it was that Adrian teacher, but she knew it was Danny, she'd seen when they went to see Clara with their coffee before the Dalek incident, she had been talking to him and they organised to get a drink and the man was similar to little Rupert and Orson. Oh, Rupert must have been little Danny, and he changed his name to become Dan the soldier man.

~.~

That night, the Doctor and Star snuck through the town, following the sonic's trace for the Skovox Blitzer, following it to an abandoned building, sharing a smirk, they activated their watches, going invisible and entered.

"Where are you?" the Doctor flashed the sonic around, the Blitzer activated, sensing them, "gotcha, lets dance."

"And we are off!" Star grinned, as they ran back to the school, the Blitzer following them, able to see their footprints.

"Come on, come on," the Doctor opened the main doors of the school, "Gangway! Not far now. Come on."  
"Nine stop parsing data pursue." The Blitzer stated.  
"Bingo."  
"Target reacquired."  
They led it into the school hall, the generators the Doctor had planted around the school now flashing red instead of the green they were supposed to be.

"What?" Star reappeared, "no!" as did the Doctor.

"Range one point four nine scan complete problem, problem." The Blitzer announced.  
"Listen." The Doctor tried reasoning, "We're unarmed. We're peaceful. Don't you understand? We know that you shouldn't be on this planet but we can help you with that."  
"Problem solution destroy."  
"I want a word with you." Danny entered the room.  
"Not now!" Star snapped at him.  
The Blitzer turned to him instead, "Problem solution destroy." He shot at Danny who dove out the way.

"No! Keep away from me!" he picked up a chair to defend himself.

The Doctor flashed the sonic, creating a yellow vortex, sending the chair flying into it. "Temporal disrupt." The Blitzer announced as it was sucked into the vortex, as was Danny, "Warning, warning. Temporal failure."  
"No!" Clara ran in, grabbing hold of Danny, "No, no, no, no! Doctor, stop! Star!"  
"Warning system failure. Abort. Abort." It was sucked into the vortex, the Doctor quickly closing it.  
He picked up the generator Danny had dropped, "Oh, oh, well done, PE, brilliant work. What's this? A chronodyne generator? I'll just deactivate that, shall I? I've got a swimming certificate so that qualifies me to meddle with higher technology. Never mind that some people are actually trying to save the planet. Oh, no. There's only room in my head for cross-country and the offside rule."  
"Danny, what are you doing here?" Clara asked him.  
"I was checking up on him." Danny glared at the Time Lords, mostly the Doctor, "He's been up to something, fiddling with the electric, but what the? No. What? Did you see that thing? Tell me you saw that thing."  
"I saw the thing, yeah. Doctor, are we safe? Is the planet safe? It's gone?"  
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, for the moment." The Doctor nodded, "But the thing is, you see, the chronodyne generators have to be precisely aligned to generate the vortex. But the sergeant here, he went and moved one."  
"But the chronodyne worked. It's gone."  
The Doctor checked the sonic, "But not far enough. The vortex will open here again, but not in a billion years."  
"Then when?"  
"Er, 74 hours. Three days? Three days to think of something new because now it knows what to expect. Now it has scanned me and it will kill me on sight, thanks to PE here."  
"Clara, why are you talking to him like that?" Danny looked at her, "Why are you using words like chronodyne? Was that thing a space thing? Oh. Oh, my God, you're from space. You're a spacewoman. You said you were from Blackpool."  
Clara looked between Danny and the Doctor and Star, she had tried so hard to keep her two lifes separate, "It's a play! For the summer fete."  
"It's a what?" Star blinked.  
"Yes, it's a play. Shut up, it is a play."

"You told me to shut up," She turned to the Doctor pointing at Clara, "she told me to shut up!"

"I heard her." He nodded.

"We are rehearsing a play." Clara continued, "Shh, shh, shh, shh. A surprise play. And, er, you see, the vortex thing is, is a lighting effect. Very clever. And that thing is, is one of the kids. In fancy dress. Really, really good fancy dress. "  
"How stupid do you think I am?" Danny frowned.  
"Well…" Star debated whether to say anything or not.  
"I'm not a moron, Clara. And he's not the caretaker. He's your dad. Your space dad."

"Ew!" Clara grimaced, "no! Oh, god no! Definitely NOT my dad!"  
"Oh, genius." The Doctor rolled his eyes, "That is, that is really, really brilliant reasoning. How can you think that I'm her dad when im clearly her uncle."

"He's my dad!" Star corrected, "Clara's my cousin! Well, actually, technically my sister-in-law, so, in reality…" she trailed off, "Right, I'm going to hypnotise him. I'm going to erase his memory."  
"Star, stop!"  
"It won't hurt him."  
"He's my boyfriend."  
"I'll let him remember you."  
"He's my boyfriend." She repeated, "I thought you'd figured this out."

"I did. I don't like him."  
The Doctor, however, blinked, "Him?"  
"Yes, him." Clara nodded  
"No, he's not."  
"Yes, he is."  
"Yes, I am." Danny agreed.  
"But he's a PE teacher." He frowned, "You wouldn't go out with a PE teacher. It's a mistake. You've made a boyfriend error"  
"I am not a PE teacher. I am a maths teacher."

"You're a soldier." He countered, before looking at Clara, "Why would you go out with a soldier? Why not get a dog or a big plant?"  
"Because I love him!" Clara cried.  
"Is this part of the surprise play?" the Doctor wondered  
"There is no surprise play." Clara sighed.  
"Oh, it's a roller coaster with you tonight, isn't it? What about the handsome one, the one with the bow tie?"  
"Who? Adrian? No, no, no. He's just a friend and not my type."

"He was your type at Christmas," Star reminded her.

"Not helping." Clara hissed at her.  
"Clara, are you going to explain any of this?" Danny cut in, "Who are these people? Why do you keep calling her Star?"  
"The Doctor and Star are…"  
"Go on…" Star gestured her to continue, curious as to what she would say.  
"Yes, explain." Danny nodded, "Who are they? Why have you never mentioned them?"  
"Because they are aliens."  
Danny blinked, he was not expecting that, he just assumed they were just distant relatives who were a bit weird. "Er, are you an alien?"  
"No, no, no, I'm still from Blackpool. The three of us, we travel through time and space."

"Exhibit A." the Doctor announced, pulling back the curtain on the stage, revealing the TARDIS.  
"It's called a TARDIS, but it's disguised as an old police phone box." Clara explained, rushing over.  
"She's bigger on the inside," Star added.  
"And it's bigger on the inside than the outside."

"And she's a she."

"And she's a she."  
The Doctor pushed the doors open, "Voila."  
"And we travel the universe in it."  
Danny leaned in, seeing that it was bigger on the inside, "And what about that thing? Did you bring that here?"  
"No. we're going to protect you from that thing." The Doctor remarked.  
"You said it was coming back."  
"Yes, it is coming back, thanks to you." Star crossed her arms.  
"This is a school. We have to evacuate, call the Army." Danny decided.  
"And that is the dangerous and stupid." The Doctor muttered.  
"Are you sure you don't want me to hypnotize him?" Star asked again, "I can make him adore you."  
"Yes." Clara huffed.  
"But we need to get help." Danny argued, "This is an emergency."  
"Look, take him away." The Doctor said, "Shut him up, shut him down. Up or down, it doesn't matter to me. I've got a lot of work to do. Again."  
"Will you be okay?" Clara asked them.  
"Why wouldn't we be okay?" Star countered, "we were perfectly fine till you two blundered in."  
"Am I just being ignored?" Danny shook his head.

"Yes."  
"Come on, Danny." Clara helped him out the room, "It's all right. Come on, it's all fine. You'll be okay. Let's er, get those legs moving. That's it, down those stairs. Yep, that's it. This can all be explained and everything will be fine."  
"And when this is all over, you can finish the job." Star called after her.  
"How do you mean?" she frowned at them.  
"You've explained us to him. You haven't explained him to us. We want answers."

"Afternoon." The Doctor greeted as Clara entered the TARDIS later that day. They had managed to work on a back up plan, or more the Doctor had and was busy working on it as Star sharpened her dagger, "Thanks for keeping out of my way. You haven't brought Dave with you, I hope."  
"His name's Danny." She corrected, "And no, I haven't. I've er, I explained it all to him. He gets it. He took it really well." She glanced at Star, "you're gonna break that if you keep sharpening it."

"It needs to be sharp," Star whispered. "Its safer sharp than blunt."  
"Pass me that synestic." The Doctor called.  
"So, when the Blitzer comes back, are you going to catch him with that?" Clara asked, handing him the synestic.  
"It'll be a long, fiddly job. It's going to take me at least 24 hours. Even longer if people keep talking to me, so do keep going."  
"If it comes back Thursday night, are you sure about that? Cos you said the chronodyne is unstable."  
"If you want bother someone, go and bother PE."  
"He's a maths teacher." She told him.  
"That's a shame, I like maths."

"I don't like him," Star stated. "He'll hurt you and he won't be able to make it up to you."

"He's different than others."

"He's a guy!"  
"But he's not a soldier," Clara said.  
"Interesting." The Doctor mused out loud, both he and Star about to feel in presence.  
"What is?"  
"I'm bored!" Star jumped up, "Let's go somewhere fun. What do you say? Do you want to see the Thames frozen over?"

"Oh, those frost fairs." The Doctor smiled, running around the console with Star.  
"But you can't." Clara pulled a lever down, trying to keep them there, "The Skovox thing."  
"It's a time machine." Star reminded her, "We can get back straightaway, like we always do on your dates. Just make sure you don't get yourself a tan or anything, or lose a limb or die. Although you wont die, because you know I wont let that happen."  
"I don't think we should, not this time."  
"You've never said no before." She pouted, "is something the matter?"

"Not even in the middle of dinner." The Doctor added, "Remember when you had to eat two meals in a row?"

"I just think, with the school in danger…" Clara began, before seeing Danny appear behind the Time Lords, "Danny…" she hissed.

"They already know I'm here." Danny remarked, "That's why they're talking like that. They're being clever."

"I'm insulted that you think we're that stupid." Star stuck up her nose, "that I'M that stupid."  
"Now you mention it, being a Time Lord, we can feel a light shield aura when it's right next to us." The Doctor told her.

"I feel it stronger than HIM, though. Oh," she turned to the Doctor as a thought hit her, "maybe that's why I keep getting headaches. Because the other Time Lords in the Pocket Universe keep trying to get hold of us…" she trailed, if that was true then she would have always been able feel them in her mind so it couldn't be that. Unless…no, she couldn't get her hopes up. Though she did need to have a word with Mr Chesterton and maybe his wife.  
"Oh ho, ho. Time Lord? Might have known." Danny muttered.  
"Might have known what?" the Doctor turned to him.  
"Well, the accent's good, but you can always spot the aristocracy. It's in the attitude."  
"Danny…" Clara warned.  
"Now, Time Lords, do you salute those?"  
"Definitely not." The Doctor glared.  
"Ah. Sir!" Danny saluted.  
"And you do not call me sir."  
"As you wish, sir. Absolutely, sir."  
"And you can get out of my TARDIS!"  
"Immediately, sir."  
"Doctor, this is stupid, this is unfair." Clara huffed.  
"One thing, Clara. I'm a soldier, guilty as charged." He admitted, "You see him? He's an officer."  
"I am not an officer!" the Doctor snapped.  
"I'm the one who carries you out of the fire. He's the one who lights it."  
"Get out!" Star roared,  
"Right away, ma'am." Danny mocked, "Straight now?"  
"Get out!"  
"Am I dismissed?"  
Star lunged at Danny, and would have possibly killed him had it not been for Clara, holding her back, "I will kill you!"

"Look at them, right now." Danny smirked, not at all afraid of Stars threat, not believing a child would kill him, "That's who they are. Soldiers. And I bet that the Doctor is the reason his daughters one too." He left the room.

"On balance, I think that went quite well." The Doctor remarked.

Clara just shook her head at them, finally letting go of Star, who ran straight out the TARDIS, forcing Clara to follow, scared for Danny's life. "Star!" she pulled the girl back, "stop it!" she glared at her before going after Danny.

"Humans," the Doctor sighed, "we will ever learn?"

Star glared out the door. "He's going to die." She stated.  
"What's in the box?" Courtney asked as she entered the room, "It's not really a police box, is it?"

All the anger Star had was gone as she turned to the girl, "you're good at sneaking around."  
"You want to know what's in that box. I'll tell you what's in that box. It's a time machine. It also travels in space. And it usually contains a man who just wants to get on with his work of preventing the end of the world, with his daughter, but keeps being interrupted by boring little humans."  
"Cool. So, that's really a spaceship?" she grinned, entering.  
Star pulled her back by her collar, "look, seriously, we need to be alone to try to save the planet. Can you please leave us alone?"

"End of the world for me tonight, whatever you do." Courtney grumbled, "Parents' evening."  
"Is your name really Disruptive Influence?" the Doctor asked her.  
"Courtney Woods. Can I go in space?"  
"We may have a vacancy," Star told her, "but not yet."  
"Now, leave," the Doctor ushered Courtney out. "2 days," he nodded, "we can do it."

"Course we can." Star smiled encouragingly, "we make a good team."

~.~

They were nearly there, just needed a few more finishing pieces but it was almost ready, they would manage to finish it for 2 days time…until the scanner beeped, signalling the vortex was opening today.

The Doctor dropped the tool box he was carrying and ran to the scanner, "no, no, no, no, no." he grabbed the pack and ran out.

"You finish that. I'll get Clara," Star ran off to the gym where parents evening was taking place.

Star stood at the doors, trying to get Clara's attention. She waved, trying to be discreet; unfortunately Danny had spotted her and ran out with Clara.

"What's happening?" Clara demanded as they met up in the playground.  
"The vortex is opening." Star informed her.  
"You said Thursday night." Danny reminded her, "Right, hall, quick."  
"PE, shut up." the Doctor glared at him, "Clara, it'll scan the area. If it gets to parents' evening, it'll kill them all."  
"We've got to evacuate."  
"Shut up!"  
"Quickly. What do I do?" Clara asked.  
"It'll be here any second. Get to the hall." He handed her the sonic, "Give it some squirts of helicon energy, setting number 41. No more than three seconds each, random pulses. Distract it, then you lead it away from the hall, give me two minutes."  
"Then what?"

"Just run straight to the TARDIS."  
"But your gadget isn't ready yet." Danny shook his head, "24 hours, you said."  
"Yes, well, I've revised that down to two minutes. Probably. Clara, go."  
"On my way." She nodded, running off.

"Be careful," Star shouted after her, "don't die!"  
"You're using her like a decoy?" Danny frowned  
"No, she is a decoy."

"Don't they teach you anything at stupid school?" the Doctor scoffed.  
"Well, is there anything I can do?" he asked, trying to be helpful. It was obvious that Clara cared for the Time Lords, the least he could do was help.  
"Yes, this is very important," Star said calmly, "Leave us alone!" she barked as they ran to the TARDIS.

Clara ran inside the caretaker cupboard, the Blitzer right behind her, "Problem solution destroy. Destroy. Destroy." It blew the door up.

"Doctor, now!" Clara cried, dodging the hit, "It's got to be now!"  
"Twenty seconds." He murmured, typing on the keyboard on the pack.  
"Destroy. Destroy." The Blitzer fired around the room.  
"Doctor!" Clara screamed.  
"Am I green?" he asked quickly, "Am I green?"  
"Yes!" Star shouted, "Its green."  
The Doctor spoke through the microphone connected to the pack, speaking to the Blitzer, "Stop! Skovox Blitzer!  
It stopped firing, "Awaiting orders."

"Superior Skovox Artificer. Analyse stop analyse stop."  
"Superior recognised. Pattern one, one. Orders, orders."  
"Why's it listening to you?" Clara asked.  
"Listening to its superior." He told her, "This is a rough copy. It thinks I'm its general." He spoke back into the microphone, "Initiate input. Commence shutdown protocol. No conflict. Conclusion?"  
"Problem solution." The Blitzer stated.  
"Conclusion."  
"Final input code missing. Emergency terminate. Initiate self-destruct in 9, 8…" its eyes turned from blue to red.  
Star groaned, closing her eyes, "input code. We forgot the final input code."  
The Doctor frantically typed away on the keyboard.  
"7, 6, 5…"  
"Do it now!" Clara cried.  
"I need time. Distract it!"  
"Oi!" Star shouted, "Robot! Over here!" She telepathically threw random objects at the robot.  
"3, 2, 1…" the Blitzer turned to Star, ready to fire…she lifted her chin up not bothering to try to move, willing to let it fire at her to give the Doctor more time. If it helped save the world, she was completely willing to die.  
"Oi, Skovox. Over here." Danny called, turning off the invisible watch he had on somersaulting over the Blitzer.  
"Under attack." It fired above as Danny narrowly missed the hits.  
"Artificer, Artificer," the Doctor continued, "Stop. Confirm stop override final input code."  
"Code accepted. Abort self-destruct. Orders accepted "Stop, stop, stop." It powered down, Star dropping the object to the ground.  
"Oh, my God!" Clara breathed, hugging Danny, "Oh, my God, you were amazing! Oh, my God, you were so brilliant."  
"Well, yeah, I was okay, wasn't I?" Danny shrugged her off, "I was behind you every step of the way. Had to make sure you were safe." He looked at Star, "You okay?"  
"Fine." She grumbled. "I was handling it just fine."  
"Of course you were," Clara rolled her eyes at the girls stubbornness.  
"It's all right, it doesn't matter." Danny turned to her, "I don't need them to like me. It doesn't matter if they like me or hate me; I just need to do exactly one thing for you. Doctor, am I right?"  
"Yes." He nodded.  
"What?" Clara shook her head, "What one thing?"  
"I need to be good enough for you. That's why they're angry. Just in case I'm not."  
"Stars always angry," Clara told him before turning to the Time Lords, "he did just save the whole world."  
Star shrugged, "not bad. But will you die for it?"

~.~

The Doctor threw the Blitzer out of the TARDIS door in space, "that's him taken care of," Star grinned, smugly, "have a nice war, Skovox Blitzer."

"So, Courtney Woods, impressed yet?" the Doctor smiled at Courtney.  
"Actually, I'm feeling a bit ill." She admitted as she held to the doors.  
"Ah, it can be a bit overwhelming. But look." He pointed to the distance, "The Olveron Cluster. A million stars, a hundred million inhabited planets."  
Courtney gagged and ran off.

"Better clean that up, caretaker" Star nudged him.  
"Ah, yes." He straightened up, "There has been a spillage."

"That's what you get for wanted to be a caretaker."

"I hate you," he grumbled.

"Everyone does, dad," she patted his cheek. "Now go and clean that up before it starts to smell."

**Guest: I can say Star will regenerate by the end of this series **㈴0


	7. Kill the moon

"Here we are," Ian Chesterton handed a slip of paper across the desk to Star as she stood hopping from one foot to the other, impatiently in his office, "the last known contact for Susan Foreman."

"Thank you, Chesterfield!" Star grinned, taking the paper with the number, "this is brilliant! You have no idea how much this means."

"I must remind you that it has been a while," Ian continued, "it may be outdated."

"Yes but even if it is I can use the TARDIS to find a more dated version. Thank you so much!" She beamed, hugging the man, "this is just..." No words could describe this so she merely squealed as she ran out of the office.

~.~

"Tell her that she's special." Star walked into the console room to see Clara glaring the Doctor down as she stood next to the girl, Courtney.  
"Have you gone bananas?" he asked.

"I like bananas," Star commented.

"Where have you been?" the Doctor asked her.

"I went to apologise to Ian," she replied, "We made a bit of a mess with the Blitzer."  
"Do you really think I'm not special?" Courtney frowned, making Star raise an amused eyebrow, seeing the girl lying, or at least stretching the truth, "You can't just take me away like that. It's like you kicked a big hole in the side of my life. You really think it? I'm nothing? I'm not special?"  
"Pfft. God." The Doctor rolled his eyes. The girl was a liar; he did not say she wasn't special.

"How'd you like to be the first woman on the moon?" Star turned to the girl.

It was obvious that the girl wanted a trip in the TARDIS.  
"Yeah, all right." She grinned.  
"Ok." The Doctor nodded, "Now we can do something interesting." He pulled a lever sending them off.  
"Hey!" Clara cried, grabbing onto the console as the room jolted.

~.~

The TARDIS materialised and the stepped out wearing orange spacesuits into a storage room, filled with random objects and a US flag.

"This isn't the moon." Courtney frowned, they had told her they were going to the moon in the future, "Where are we?"  
"On a recycled space shuttle." The Doctor answered, "2049, judging by that prototype version of the Bennett oscillator."  
"Where's the gravity coming from?" Star wondered as they took their helmets off.  
"What are they?" Clara eyed the cylinder objects around the room.  
"About a hundred nuclear bombs." The Doctor replied as alarms blared, "Ah. We're on our way to the moon." He looked out the window, "Check that. We're about to crash into it! Hold on! Hold on!" they held onto the cargo nets on the walls.  
"Why didn't you just tell her you didn't mean it?" Clara cried.

"Because that isn't our style." Star laughed.  
The shuttle skidded to a halt on the moon and 3 people entered wearing their own spacesuits, 2 men and a woman.  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" the woman, clearing the one in charge, demanded.  
"Why have you got all these nuclear bombs?" the Doctor asked instead of answering.  
"I'm not going to give you another chance."  
"Oh? Well, you're just going to have to shoot us, then. Shoot the little girl first."  
"What?" Courtney's eyes widened.  
"Yes. She doesn't want to stand there watching us getting shot, does she? She'll be terrified. Girl first, then her teacher, and then me. You'll have to spend a lot of time shooting me because I will keep on regenerating. In fact, I'm not entirely sure that I won't keep on regenerating forever. And then…my daughter would stab you before you get her." He nodded to Star, "although before you even manage to get your weapons she would have most likely already have stabbed you all."

"He's right," Star nodded.  
"Doctor, what are you doing?" Clara shook his head as the Doctor slowly stepped back and forwards, ending up hoping like a bunny.  
"Gravity test." He said, "So, it'll be very time-consuming and messy, and rather wasteful, because I think I might just possibly be able to help you. You see, I am a super-intelligent alien being who flies in time and space. Are you going to shoot me?"  
"No." the woman merely eyed him.  
"Good. Why have you got all these nuclear bombs? No, no, no. Easier question. What's wrong with my yo-yo?" he pulled out a yo-yo using it to test the gravity.

"Doctor, it goes up and down." Clara remarked.  
"And what does that mean?" Star edged her on.  
"Ah."  
"Ah ha." The Doctor agreed, "We should be bouncing about this cabin like little fluffy clouds. But we're not. What is the matter with the moon?"  
"Nobody knows." The woman told them.  
"Do you know what's wrong with the moon?" Clara turned to the Time Lords.  
"It's put on weight." The Doctor commented.  
"How can the moon put on weight?" the woman scoffed.  
"Oh, lots of ways. Gravity bombs, axis alignment systems, planet shellers."  
"So it's alien."  
"Must be causing chaos on Earth. The tides will be so high that they will drown whole cities."  
"Yeah."

"So what are you doing about it?" the woman took a case of the wall, "This?"  
"That's what you do with aliens, isn't it?" she countered, "Blow them up?"

~.~

They stepped out, Courtney first, as promised, and onto the moons surface, "Wow. Wow!" Courtney beamed, "One small thing for a thing. One enormous thing for a thingy thing."  
"So much for history." The woman, Lundvik, as she had introduced herself eventually, grumbled.

They left the damaged shuttle and walked to the modular settlement near by.  
"There was a mining survey, Mexicans." Lundvik explained, "Something happened up here. Nobody knows what. That's when the trouble began back on Earth. High tide everywhere at once. The greatest natural disaster in history."  
They walked around the building, finding the airlock wide open…covered with cobwebs.  
"Cobwebs?" Clara frowned.  
"Henry, go back and prime the bombs." Lundvik ordered the middle aged man.  
"Er, is there any instructions?" he asked.  
"There's a switch on each of them. The light goes red."  
"They won't go off?"  
"No, not till I fiddle with this thing." He held up the red case she took of the wall in the shuttle.  
"Ok." Henry nodded, walking back, still looking worried.  
"Shall we?" Lundvik gestured them in.  
"Is that the best you could get?" Star wondered, amused by how worried the man was.  
"Second-hand space shuttle, third-hand astronauts." She shrugged.

They walked in, down a corridor and shut the door behind them as they entered the main room.

"How many people here?" the Doctor questioned.  
"Four." Lundvik answered, "Minera Luna San Pedro. It was privately financed. They were doing a mineral survey up here."  
"Messages? Mayday? SOS?"  
"Pretty much all the satellites had been whacked out of orbit." The second man replied, "They managed to send back some screams."

"So then you came up here to rescue them with your bombs?" the Doctor frowned.

"Not quite."  
"They disappeared 10 years ago." Lundvik told him.  
"You mean nobody came in all that time?" Star shook her head.  
"There was no shuttle."  
"What about yours?"  
"It was in a museum. They'd cut the back off it so kids could ride in it. We'd stopped going into space. Nobody cared. Not until…" she was cut off by Courtney screaming.  
"Courtney!" Clara cried, hurrying to her side, to see she had found a spacesuit in a cocoon. "Oh, my God." she gasped, "Doctor, tell me there wasn't anyone inside that thing."  
The Doctor scanned the suit, "I could, but it wouldn't make it true."  
"I'll get some power back on." Duke hurried off to find the power source.  
"Come on. Now, Courtney, come here." Clara calmed the girl down, "Don't look. You all right?"  
"I'm okay." She breathed.  
"Hey. Look. Look at me. Look. It's all right if you're not."  
"I'm fine." She insisted as the Doctor cut the corpse down, "What did it?"  
"Maybe something trying to find out how you're put together." The Doctor remarked, "Or maybe how you tasted. Do we have guns?"  
"Not unless you brought some." Lundvik sighed.

"I have a dagger," Star offered.  
"Chicken, apparently." The Doctor said. Duke brought the power on, "Save the air."

They all took of their helmets and Star walked over to the computer console, looking at the survey records, the Doctor joined her.  
"They didn't find anything." Star stated.  
"Eh?" Lundvik looked over.  
"The Mexicans. They didn't find any minerals on the moon."

The Doctor looked at the photos of the moon laid out on the table, "Oh."  
"Oh?" Clara raised an eyebrow.  
"Lines of tectonic stress."  
"That's the Mare Fecunditatis." Lundvik told them, "It's been there since the Apollo days. It's always been there."

"No, no, no." the Doctor argued, "These are much, much bigger. Sea of Tranquillity. Sea of Nectar. Sea of Ingenuity. Sea of Crises."  
"Meaning?" Clara asked as the lights flickered off.  
"Meaning, Clara, that the moon, this little planetoid that's been tagging along beside you for a hundred million years, which gives you light at night and seas to sail on, is in the process of falling to bits."

There was a bang and the room shook, a high pitch noise sounded as they heard scuttling.  
"What the hell was that?" Courtney demanded.  
"Duke, is that you?" Lundvik called into her comm.  
"I don't sound anything like that." Duke replied.  
"Can you try and get the lights back on?"  
"That's what I'm doing."  
"Torch. Give me your torch." The Doctor grabbed the torch, "Whatever it is, it's in here." They heard something running down the walls "I think we've found your alien." A large spider with luminous red eyes headed for them down the other corridor, "Back, back, back! We need a door. A door, a door!"  
"Here! Here!" Clara called, rushing to the door, "The door's locked."  
"Come on, come on! There's no power to work it. Come on!"  
"Doctor…"  
The Doctor pushed them down behind the table, hiding, "Stay still. It's sensing movement. It can't see you. Fast movement. There must be another exit through there. Slowly. Slowly. Head to that exit. Slowly. Slowly. Slowly, slowly." They slowly headed for the other door, "Gently, gently. When I say run, run."  
"Who made you the boss?" Lundvik glared.  
"Well, you say run, then."  
"Duke!" she shouted, seeing the man in the corridor.

The man cried out as the spider attacked him.  
"Duke!"  
The door unlocked, "Run!" the Doctor yelled, "We have power. Run!"  
"Quick, it's shutting." Clara ran through, followed by Lundvik and the Doctor and Star, who just managed to squeeze as it shut behind her.  
"Courtney!" Clara cried, seeing the girl didn't make it through, "Courtney!"

"Miss!" the girl cried as the gravity turned off and the girl floated in the room. "it killed him. It's coming in here! Help! It's coming in here!"

"You'll be ok!" the Doctor assured her, "Courtney, look at me. Look at me! Courtney…" he glanced up at the spider as it crawled along the ceiling. "Try and get to the door! Try and get yourself down here." The Doctor soniced the glass, breaking it.

"We need a rope of something…" Star looked around for anything of use, "give me the yo-yo!" she pulled it out from the Doctors pocket, "Courtney, grab hold!" she flicked it out and the girl managed to grab it…

Right as the gravity returned and she fell to the ground…alone with the spider with lunged at her.

Star threw her hand out, pushing the spider back as Courtney pulled out a spray bottle from her backpack and squirted the spider as it lunged at her again.  
"Courtney!" Clara ran over, "You all right?"

"What was that?" the Doctor eyed the spider as it twitched on the ground, "in the bottle, what is it?"

"Kills 99% of all known germs," Courtney held the bottle up.

"You alright?" Clara repeated.

She nodded, "Why did I just fly? This is nuts."  
The Doctor scanned the spider with the sonic, "Oh, God, this is incredible. Look at the size of it. It's the size of a badger."  
"Doctor…" Clara began.  
"It's a prokaryotic unicellular life form, with non-chromosomal DNA. Which, as you and me know. Well, not you and me. Well, you, certainly not. You and me, yes, scientists know, this is a germ. You flew because that one point three billion tonnes shifted. It moved. It's an unstable mass."  
"I'm scared, Miss." Courtney admitted.  
"Okay." Clara wrapped an arm around her.  
"He'd just had a grand-daughter." Lundvik looked at Duke's body, "Elina. She was his first. He was my teacher. He taught me how to fly. We were both given the sack on the same day."  
"Which way to the Mare Fecunditatis?" the Doctor looked at her.  
"Please can I go home now?" Courtney pleaded, "I'm really sorry, I lied, he didn't say I was special, I made it up, I just wanted a trip. I'd like to go home, please."

They walked back to the shuttle, Lundvik trying to contact Henry, needing to warn him about the giant spiders, "Henry, come in. If you don't mind, Henry, come in."

"Can you stop?" Star snapped at the woman, "We get it he isn't answering, stop making noise."

Lundvik blinked at her but stopped trying to contact the man.  
"Doctor, this is dangerous now." Clara remarked.  
"It was dangerous before." The Doctor countered, "Everything's dangerous if you want it to be. Eating chips is dangerous. Crossing the road. It's no way to live your life. Tell her. You're supposed to be teaching her."  
"Look, I have a duty of care, okay? You know what that is?"  
"Course I know what a duty of care is. What are you suggesting? She's fine. What are you, 35?"  
"15" Courtney glared.

"She's human." Star informed him, "not Time Lord."

He waved her off as he led Courtney inside the TARDIS,

"Don't touch anything!" Star warned, going to the console, ensuring that Courtney wouldn't be able to leave the console room and get lost in the TARDIS.

"You got any games?"  
"Check the shelves; there might be a puzzle or something."  
"Can I get reception up here?"

"Best in the universe." she winked, closing the door behind her.

"Why are you shutting her in?" Clara frowned, "We don't need to stay, do we?"  
"Eh?" the Doctor looked at her.  
"It's obvious, isn't it? The moon doesn't break up."  
"How do you know?"  
"Because I've been in the future, and the moon is still there. I think. You know the moon is still there, right?"  
"Maybe it isn't the moon." Star suggested, "Maybe it's a hologram or a big painting, or a special effect. Maybe it's a completely different moon. A fake moon."  
"But you would know."  
"Why do you expect us to know?! We don't know everything." She let out a breath, leaning against the TARDIS doors.  
"If the moon fell to bits in 2049, somebody would've mentioned it. It would have come up in conversation." She reasoned, "So it doesn't break up. So the world doesn't end. So, let's just get in the TARDIS and go."  
"Clara, there are some moments in time that we simply can't see." The Doctor told her, "Little eye-blinks. They don't look the same as other things. They're not clear. They're fuzzy, they're grey. Little moments in which big things are decided. And this is one of them. Just now, we can't tell what happens to the moon, because whatever happens to the moon hasn't been decided yet. And it's going to be decided here and now. Which very much sounds as though it's up to us."  
"None of you are going anywhere." Lundvik spoke, glaring at them all, "I've lost my crew. We were the last astronauts. This is the last shuttle; these are the last nuclear bombs. We're the last chance for Earth, and you're staying to help me."  
"Decision made."  
"Yeah." Clara nodded, not happy with this. She really just wanted to get Courtney back to the school, safe before any trouble happened.

"Well if the decisions made, can we hurry up." Star called.

"You alright?" Clara asked.

"Headache?" the Doctor frowned, she nodded, "you can stay with Courtney…"

"Nuh-uh." She shook her head, "I'm needed out here."

~.~

"What is killing the moon?" the Doctor wondered as they stood on the moon, looking at the Mexicans survey and equipment again.  
"How can the moon die, though?" Clara inquired.  
"Everything dies," Star stated, "sooner or later."  
"Can we save it?" Lundvik asked.  
"Depends what's killing it." the Doctor remarked.  
"There are the other three." Lundvik spotted the other three spacesuits cocoon in cobwebs.  
"Is it those germ things, then?" Clara wondered, "Are they like cockroaches? Is it, is it an infestation?"  
"Is it?"  
"Well, we've only seen one of them. It would take an awful lot more to cause the moon to put on one point 3 billion tonnes."

A spider jumped out of the hole, lunging at the Doctor  
Star threw her arm out, sending the spider back into its lair.  
"Well," the Doctor panted, "That makes two." He looked at Star, "thanks."

"Told you I was needed out here." She smirked.  
"Sunlight." Clara blinked.  
"Sunlight?" Lundvik frowned at her.  
"If they're germs. My nan says it's the best disinfectant there is."  
"Shine your light down there." The Doctor instructed, she shown the torch and they saw lots of red lights.  
"Where have they come from?" Lundvik wondered.  
"Maybe they've been there all the time. It's warmish. They're multiplying, feeding, evolving."

They quickly walked away.  
"Doctor, if the moon breaks up, it'll kill us all in about 45 minutes."  
"I agree."

"Unless something else is going on." Star countered.

The Doctor sent his yo-yo down a gap on the surface, it came back up wet.  
"There's no water on the moon." Lundvik frowned seeing it was wet.  
"It's not water. It's amniotic fluid. The stuff that life comes from. I've got to go down there. Back to your shuttle. Get your bombs ready. You," he pointed to Clara, "get to the TARDIS. Get safe. Get Courtney safe. You," he pointed at Star, "rest and sort out that headache of yours. I will be back."  
"What?" Clara blinked, realising what he was planning, "No. Doctor. Doctor!"  
The Doctor jumped into the hole.  
"Doctor!"  
"Will he?" Lundvik looked at Star; the girl didn't seem bothered that he had just jumped.  
She shrugged, "he said he would and besides, he is EXTREMELY hard to kill."

They walked back to the shuttle.

"Miss? Come in." Courtney came on the comm.  
"Courtney?" Clara replied.  
"I'm bored. When are you coming back?"  
"We're on our way. What you doing?"  
"Putting some pictures on Tumblr."  
Star laughed at that, but Clara was more concerned about what the Doctor would say, "No! Courtney, don't put any photos on Tumblr."  
"My granny used to put things on Tumblr." Lundvik giggled.  
A small quake made them stagger as they walked.  
"There he is." Lundvik spotted Henry with his helmet off, his body a skeleton.  
"Was that where we landed? It looks so different." Clara frowned at the shuttle, cracks forming on the moons crust.  
"It's the moon-quake," Star informed her.

"It's going down," Lundvik noted, before the shuttle fell into the holes, the crack getting larger.  
"Courtney!" Clara shouted, hurrying forwards.

"Clara, she's fine." Star assured her, grabbing her to stop her from falling into the cracks, "She's in the TARDIS. She wouldn't have felt a thing."  
"We're going to have to take cover. We're running out of oxygen." Lundvik informed them.

Star looked back, "what did you find?"  
The Doctor jumped back up from the crack behind them, grinning, "Today's the day, humankind."

"Where's the TARDIS?" Clara asked as they walked back to the modular settlement.  
"She's in the shuttle," Star reminded her, "she'll turn up."

"Last time you said that, she turned up on the wrong side of the planet."

"His fault!" Star pointed at the Doctor, who held his hands up defensively, "He was the one who reset the HADS."  
"You two have never gotten on, have you?" the Doctor looked at Clara.  
"Look, we need to know where Courtney is."  
"Courtney is safe. Ish. Well, do you have her phone number?"  
"No, no, no. Of course I don't have her phone number."  
"Well, what about the school? Does the secretary have her number?"  
"I can't. The secretary hates me. She thinks I gave her a packet of TENA Lady for Secret Santa. Look. Courtney's posting stuff on Tumblr. Doesn't that know where you are?"  
"I don't know." Lundvik shook her head, "I'm not a historian."  
"Phone. I know what the problem is." The Doctor grabbed her phone, seeing the pictures Courtney had posted, "Oh, she can't post that. She can't put pictures of us online." He soniced the phone and then the monitor on the wall,  
"Yeah?" Courtney appeared on the wall, looking down at the camera on her phone.

"You can't put pictures of me and Star online."  
"Are you okay?" Clara asked her.  
She nodded, "Er, I'm fine. What's up?"  
"You said you know what the problem is." Clara turned to the Doctor.

"Yes, yes. It's a rather big problem." He nodded his agreement.  
"Okay...do you want to share it with the class?"  
"Well, I had a little hypothesis. The seismic activity, the surface breaking up, the variable mass, the increase in gravity, the fluid. I scanned what's down there." He soniced the console, creating a 3D projection of the moon. "The moon isn't breaking apart. Well, actually, it is breaking apart, and rather quickly. We've got about an hour and a half. But that isn't the problem. It's not infested."  
"What are they, then, those things?" Courtney called.  
"Bacteria. Tiny, tiny bacteria living on something very, very big. Something that weighs about one point three billion tonnes. Something that's living. Something growing."  
"Growing?" Clara frowned, what could possibly be growing on the moon.  
"That." He soniced the image to show a dragon-like creature curled up under the moons crust.  
Courtney lean closer, getting a closer look, "That lives under the moon?"  
"No." he argued.  
"The moon's hatching" Star stared at the image.  
"Yes!" He cheered, "The moon's an egg." He eyed her reaction as she merely nodded, not questioning the moon being an egg, not even questioning if he was lying or joking.

"Has it, er, has it always been an egg?" Clara asked, sceptical.  
"Yes, for a hundred million years or so." He explained, "Just, just growing. Just getting ready to be born."  
"Okay. So the moon has never been the moon?"  
"No, no, no, no. It's never been dead. It's just taking a long time to come alive."  
"Is it a chicken?" Courtney squinted.

"It's not a space chicken." Star shook her head.

"Cos, for a chicken to have laid an egg that big…"

"It's not a chicken." Star repeated, "Its…I don't know what it is."  
"What is it?" Clara asked.  
"I think that it's unique." The Doctor answered, "I think that's the only one of its kind in the universe. I think that that is utterly beautiful."  
"How do we kill it?" Lundvik stared at it in disgust.  
"Why'd you want to kill it?" Clara turned to her, shocked she had just said she wanted to destroy it.  
"It's a little baby." Courtney agreed.  
"Doctor, how do we kill it?" Lundvik repeated.  
"Kill the moon?" the Doctor frowned, unsure whether she was actually being serious, but she nodded. He turned off the projection, "Kill the moon. Well, you have about a hundred of the best man-made nuclear weapons, if they still work. If that's what you want to do."  
"Doctor, wait…" Clara began.  
"Will that do it?" Lundvik questioned.  
"A hundred nuclear bombs set off right where we are, right on top of a living, vulnerable creature? It'll never feel the sun on its back." The Doctor told her.  
"And then what? Will the moon still break up? You said, you said we had an hour and a half?"  
"Well, there'll be nothing to make it break up. There will be nothing trying to force its way out. The gravity of the little dead baby will pull all the pieces back together again. Of course, it won't be very pretty. You'd have an enormous corpse floating in the sky. You might have some very difficult conversations to have with your kids."  
"I don't have any kids."  
"Stop. Right, listen." Clara cut in, "This is a, this is a life. I mean, this must be the biggest life in the universe."  
"It's not even been born." Courtney agreed.  
"It is killing people." Lundvik argued, "It is destroying the Earth."  
"You cannot blame a baby for kicking." Clara shook her head.  
"Let me tell you something. You want to know what I took back from being in space. Look at the edge of the Earth. The atmosphere, that is paper thin. That is the only thing that saves us all from death. Everything else, the stars, the blackness. That's all dead. Sadly, that is the only life any of us will ever know."  
"There's life here. There's life just next door." Courtney said.  
"Look, when you've grown up a bit, you'll realise that everything doesn't have to be nice. Some things are just bad. Anyway, you ran away. It's none of your business. "  
"I want to come back."  
"You're safer in the TARDIS," Star called to the girl, glaring at Lundvik as the woman began to enter the codes for the bombs. She thought she was bad for making threats to kill planets for no reason. But she was a human, and she was willing to this, just because she didn't understand about the creature under the moon. A human was willing to blow up the moon because an innocent baby was being born. A human was needed to stop a human.

"I'm sorry. I want to come back, okay? I want to help."  
"Ah, there's some DVDs on the blue book shelf." The Doctor rubbed his face, "Just stick one into the TARDIS console. That'll bring you to us."  
"Right." She nodded, getting up to find a DVD.  
"And make sure you hang on to the console, otherwise the TARDIS will leave you behind."  
"So what do we do?" Clara looked at the Time Lords, "Huh? What do we do?"  
"Nothing." Star murmured.  
"What?" Clara gaped at her, even the Doctor looked surprised.  
"We can't help you with this."  
"Of course you can help."  
"The Earth isn't our home. The moon's not our moon."  
"Come on. Star…Doctor?"

'_Clara needs to learn that we have to make bad decisions.' _Star spoke in the Doctors mind, _'if we're not around one day and it's up to her…she needs to be able to do the right thing. Trust her like you trust me.'_

"I agree." The Doctor stated.

"Thank you!"

"No, with Star. There are moments in every civilisation's history in which the whole path of that civilisation is decided. The whole future path. Whatever future humanity might have depends upon the choice that is made right here and right now. Now, you've got the tools to kill it. You made them. You brought them up here all on your own, with your own ingenuity. You don't need a Time Lord. Kill it. Or let it live. We can't make this decision for you. "  
"Yeah, well, I can't make it."  
"Well, there's two of you here."  
"Well, yeah. A school teacher and an astronaut."  
"Who's better?" Star countered.  
"I don't know! The President of America?" she suggested.  
"Oh, take something off his plate." The Doctor moaned, "He makes far too many decisions anyway."  
"She." Lundvik corrected.

"She," Star smirked, "I like that."  
The Doctor glanced at her before shaking his head, continuing, "She. Sorry. She hasn't even been into space. She hasn't been to another planet. How would she even know what to do?"  
"I am asking you for help." Clara pleaded.  
"Listen, we went to dinner in Berlin in 1937, right? We didn't nip out after pudding and kill Hitler. I've never killed Hitler. And you wouldn't expect me to kill Hitler. The future is no more malleable than the past."

"Well, we did lock Hitler in the cupboard for a bit." Star reminded him.  
"Okay, don't you do this to make some kind of point." Clara tried to reason with them, they couldn't seriously be expecting her to do this.

"It's time to take the stabilisers off your bike." The Doctor said, "It's your moon, womankind. It's your choice."  
"And you're just going to stand there?"  
"Course not," he scoffed.  
The TARDIS materialised and Courtney stepped out  
"Doctor? Star?" Clara stared at them, realising what they meant.  
"A teenager, an astronaut and a schoolteacher." The Doctor nodded.  
"Hang on a minute. We can get in there, can't we?" Lundvik nodded to the TARDIS, "You can sort it out with that thing."  
"No. Some decisions are too important not to make on your own."  
"Doctor! Star!" Clara cried.

Star smiled at her, "I know you'll make the right choice." She turned and followed the Doctor in the TARDIS and they dematerialised.

"I hope you're right about this." the Doctor remarked to Star.

"I am," she insisted, "we have to trust Clara. We CAN trust Clara."

~.~

They stood at the monitor, watching in silence. Star had read on the monitor about what happened she they brought Courtney in. it was just a quick glance but she knew what happened which was why she was so insistent for Clara to take charge. They left the bomb to count down one hour when they sent a transmission to Earth, to let the humans below decided what to do…only for them to decide to kill the moon and the unborn creature, not wanting to know if it would help them or not.

As Star had hoped Clara had stopped the bomb at the last second, allowing the creature to leave.

"I knew you could do it Clara." Star sighed in relief, letting out the breath she had been holding as the Doctor rematerialised at the base.  
"One, two, three," the Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS, pointing at them in turn, "into the Tardis."  
"What's happening?" Lundvik demanded.  
"Let's go and have a look, shall we?"

He and Star ran around the console, piloting them.

"Bloody idiots." Lundvik grumbled, "Bloody irresponsible idiots."  
"Mind your language, please," the Doctor walked over to her, "There are children present."

"I hope by children you mean Courtney," Star looked at him, "im not a child, remember?"

"You are to me."  
"You should have left me there, let me die." Lundvik glared at them, "I wanted to die up there with the universe in front of me, not being crushed to death on Earth."  
"Nobody's going to die." The Doctor deadpanned.  
"Could you please let us see what's happening?"

~.~

They materialised on a beach on Earth, stepping out just in time for the moon to hatch.

"What's it doing?" Courtney squinted up, seeing the creature spreading it wings.  
"It's feeling the sun on itself." The Doctor said, "It's getting warm. The chick flies away and the eggshell disintegrates. Harmless."  
"Did you know?" Clara demanded.  
"You made your decision. Humanity made its choice."  
"No, we ignored humanity." Lundvik argued.  
"Exactly!" Star laughed.  
"So what happens now, then? Tell me what happens now."  
The Doctor turned his back, closing his eyes, "In the mid-twenty first century humankind starts creeping off into the stars, spreads its way through the galaxy to the very edges of the universe. And it endures till the end of time." He turned back to them, "And it does all that because one day in the year 2049, when it had stopped thinking about going to the stars, something occurred that make it look up, not down. It looked out there into the blackness and it saw something beautiful, something wonderful, that for once it didn't want to destroy. And in that one moment, the whole course of history was changed. Not bad for a girl from Coal Hill School, and her teacher."  
"Oh, my gosh. It laid a new egg." Courtney smiled, seeing a new moon in the sky, "It's beautiful. It's beautiful."  
"That's what we call a new moon." Star smiled.

"You can be the first woman on that." Courtney looked at Lundvik.  
"I think that somebody deserves a thank you." Star crossed her arms.  
"Yeah, probably." Lundvik turned to Clara, "Thank you. Thank you for stopping me. Thank you for giving me the moon back."  
"Ok, Captain." The Doctor nodded, "Well, you've got a whole new space programme to get together. NASA is er, it's that way." He pointed, "About two and a half thousand miles." He looked down at Courtney, "You still got your vortex manipulator? I'll give you a run home."

~.~

Courtney and Clara walked up the stairs back in their usual clothes again as the Doctor dropped books on the stairs to the upper level, Star setting them down in the cupboard at the school, both out of their spacesuits.

"Not that it's any of my business, but I think you did the right thing." The Doctor offered Clara a smile.  
"Yeah, you're right." Clara nodded tensely, "It's none of your business. Come on, Courtney, off you go. Double Geography."  
"Can we do it again?" Courtney asked.  
"Go. Go, go. Chop, chop." She ushered the girl out. "Tell me what you knew." Clara demanded the Time Lords, speaking mostly to the Doctor, thinking it had been his plan.  
"Nothing." The Doctor answered honestly, "I told you, I've got grey areas."  
"Yeah. I noticed. Tell me what you knew, both of you, or else I'll smack you so hard you'll regenerate."  
"We knew that eggs are not bombs. We know they don't usually destroy their nests. Essentially, what I knew was that you would always make the best choice."

"We had faith that you would always make the right choice." Star looked down at the console. This was not the reaction she had wanted from Clara. As soon as they got them back in the TARDIS they knew Clara was mad at them, well, she supposed mad at her as it was her plan.  
"Honestly, do you have music playing in your head when you say rubbish like that?" Clara scoffed.  
"It wasn't our decision to make. Not our moon." The Doctor said.  
"Well, why did you do it? Was it for Courtney, was that it?"  
"Well, she really is something special now, isn't she?" he smiled, "First woman on the moon saved the Earth from itself, and, rather bizarrely, she becomes the President of the United States. She met this bloke called Blinovitch…"  
"Do you know what? Shut up! I am so sick of listening to you!" Clara snapped at them.  
"Well, we didn't do it for Courtney. I didn't know what was going to happen. Do you think I'm lying?"  
"I don't know." Clara shook her head, tears in her eyes in her anger; they had left her on the moon, expecting her to make the right decision, not even giving her any help or hints. Just…gone and left her, not even staying for support, "I don't know. If you didn't do it for her, I mean. Do you know what? It was, it was cheap. It was pathetic. No, no, no. It was patronising. That was you patting us on the back, saying, you're big enough to go to the shops by yourself now. Go on, toddle along."  
"What we did," Star began, careful with her word so not to make Clara even angrier, "we did for you. That was us respecting you. Allowing you to do what we do, to know how hard the decisions we make are."  
"Oh, my God, really? Was it? Yeah, well, respected is not how I feel."  
"Right. Okay. Er…" the Doctor stopped, unsure what to say, they were only trying to help.  
"I nearly didn't press that button." She admitted, tears in her eyes, "I nearly got it wrong. That was you, my friends, my FAMILY, making me scared. Making me feel like a bloody idiot."  
"Language." The Doctor pointed at her.  
"Oh, don't you ever tell me to mind my language. Don't you ever tell me to take the stabilisers off my bike. And don't you dare lump me in with the rest of all the little humans that you think are so tiny and silly and predictable. You walk our Earth, you breathe our air. You make us your friend, and that is your moon too. And you can damn well help us when we need it."  
"I was only trying to help," Star murmured.  
"What, by clearing off?" she scoffed, "Well, clear off! Go on. You can clear off. Get back in your lonely, your lonely bloody TARDIS and you don't come back."  
"Im sorry."  
"You go away. Okay? You go a long way away." She turned and stormed out, never wanting to see them again.

"Fine!" Star finally snapped, unable to keep her anger down any longer. "We'll go and if we never see you again, it'll be too soon! I am sorry if you aren't clever enough to understand what I did was for you! But if something like that even happens then at least now we know that you can actually do what we do and do it well!"

Clara slammed the door behind her as she left, leaving the TARDIS silent.

"Well…" the Doctor broken the silence, "that didn't go as planned, did it?"

"You think?" Star sneered.

This was all her fault.


	8. Mummy on the orient express

It had taken awhile, but Clara agreed to one more trip, to the Orient Express in space. Clara had calmed down after the argument, and somehow Danny had managed to reason with her to get her to agree.

They materialised on the train in the baggage cart, the Doctor stepped out first dressed a black suit with a loose bow tie. "Your train awaits, my lady," the Doctor held out his arm to Clara who stepped out in a lovely black flapper dress with gold detailing and black gloves.

"You mean, ladies," Star corrected, closing the TARDIS doors as she stepped out.

She was wearing a thin strapped purple dress, stopping at her mid thighs, with small tassels in layers, swaying as she moved. A silver headband over her forehead as she left her hair loose, a large gem on the side, she also had a green boa on her shoulders used as a shawl. Finished with silver heels. She had hoped that Clara would help her choose something to wear but the human currently wasn't speaking to her.

"You look beautiful," the Doctor told her.

"Thank you." She murmured. "But Clara looks better." She looked at the woman for a reaction but…nothing, she acted as though she hadn't heard anything.

"There were many trains to take the name Orient Express, but only one in space." The Doctor led them off and into the lounge.

The lounge was a comfortable cart with chairs along one side, a bar at the far end with guards around the room, a young lady singing a Jazz version of 'Don't stop me now'.**  
**"Of course it is." Clara nodded.  
"Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger." The Doctor told her, "And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail." A large man shoved past them, "Most of the time." He rubbed his arm.  
"You're doing it again." Star looked at Clara.

No reaction.

"Stop it!" she cried, "I made a mistake, I know! Please stop ignoring me, at least show that you can hear me! Please, stop it!"  
Clara sighed; knowing that if she kept it up Star would cause a scene, "What am I doing?"

"Smiling sadly. You're meant to smile because you're happy but you're not. And its my fault."

"Yes it is."  
"I just thought this would be a good one to…" the Doctor trailed.  
"To end it." Clara finished, "Yeah. It is. It's a good choice. A good one to end on."  
"It was my idea," Star mumbled, "Thought it would be nice to dress as a flapper. Actually, I said we should go and meet Agatha Christie but someone," she gave the Doctor a look, "had already done that and knew exactly how the woman lost her memory."  
"Shall we?" the Doctor offered Clara his arm, she took it.  
"Ladies and gentlemen." The computer announced, "If you would be good enough to look from the windows on the right of the train, you'll be able to see the soaring majesty of the Magellan black hole."  
"Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see." The Doctor remarked as they looked out the window, "All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast…"

Star glanced at Clara, "I can see a smile creeping on you lips."

"Well, its only you I hate." Clara shot at her before sighing deeply, "I don't actually hate you."  
"There was this planet, Obsidian." The Doctor said, a little louder than needed, hoping if he kept talking there wouldn't be an argument because two angry girls fighting what not want he had bargained for, "The planet of perpetual darkness."  
"I did. I did hate you. In fact, I hated you for weeks."  
"Good. Well, I'm glad that you've cleared that up. There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs."

"Doctor," Star whacked him, "if you want to keep talking just go into the TARDIS so that Clara and I can speak."

"No." the Doctor shook his head, "im not leave the pair of you alone."  
"I went to a concert once." Clara continued, "Can't remember who it was. But do you know what the singer said? She said, 'Hatred is too strong an emotion to waste on someone that you don't like.'"  
The Doctor shifted, looking between the pair. Really not liking where this was going.  
"Look, what I'm trying to say is, I don't hate you." she looked at Star, "I could NEVER hate you." she sighed, "you've changed…from when we first met and I can't do this any more. Not the way you do it."

"On the moon…." Star began but Clara cut her off.

"No. I don't want to talk about that."

"But I do! I need you to understand."

"Please I just want to forget we ever went to the moon."

"One day, though. One day we will talk about it."

"Fine. But not today."

"Fine."

"Can I talk about the planets now?" the Doctor asked, sensing by their tone that no more would be said.  
"Go on." Clara rolled her eyes at him, "talk about the planets."  
"Thedion Four." The Doctor grinned "Constant acid rain. Had a lovely picnic there once, wearing a gas mask."  
"That's a lie." A young woman stopped in front of them.

"I'm sorry?" Clara blinked at her.  
"That's a lie, what you said. Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn't have been there."

The head guard walked over, seeing the woman talking to them, "Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn't rather rest in your room?"  
"That man's a liar." She pointed at the Doctor.  
"Perhaps you'd allow Mr Carlyle here to escort you back." The guard gestured another guard over.  
"It'll be all right, miss." The other guard escorted her away, "Just come with me."  
"Sorry about that." The head guard turned to the trio, "I suppose it's understandable in the circumstances. I don't believe we've been introduced. Captain Quell."  
"I'm Clara. This is the Doctor," Clara introduced them. "And Star," she added when the Doctor narrowed his eyes at her.  
"Ah, another one." Captain Quell nodded.  
"Sorry? Another what?"  
"Well, we've got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip. So, what are you a doctor of?"

"That question isn't asked often enough," Star murmured.  
"Let's say intestinal parasites." The Doctor offered.  
The captain eyed him, "I'm beginning to think Miss Pitt was right about you."  
"What's wrong with her?" Clara asked, the woman had seemed dazed and…not herself, "Did something happen?"  
"You mean you really don't know?"

They took their flutes of champagne out to the corridor to talk in private after Captain Quell told them what had happened to Miss Pitts mother, how she had seen a Mummy and then had died in her chair.

"There's a body and there's a mummy." Clara remarked, "I mean, can you not just get on a train? Did a wizard put a curse on you about mini-breaks?"  
"It might be nothing." He waved her off, "Old ladies die all the time. It's practically their job description."  
"And the monster?"  
"Well, seen by no one except her, which suggests that it wasn't there. A dying brain, lack of oxygen, hallucinations. Anyway, people do just die sometimes. She was over a hundred years old."  
"Says the 2000 year old man," Clara scoffed.  
"Clara, you actually sound as if you want this to be a thing." Star eyed her intently, "Do you?"  
"No. No, look, fine." She shook her head, "You know, if you think that there is nothing to worry about, then that is fine by me. "  
"Sure?"  
"I'm sure."  
"To our last hurrah." The Doctor raised a toast.  
"Our last, yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm never going to see you again."  
"Isn't it?"

"Is it?"  
"I thought that's what you wanted?" Star frowned.

"Says the one who shouted 'and if I never see you again it'll be too soon'."

Her face reddened, "I say things I don't mean when I get angry. I have more control over…whatever the hell it is than my anger which is genetics."  
"No, what I mean, you're going to come round for dinner or something, aren't you? Do you do that? Do you come round to people's houses for dinner?"  
"Of course." The Doctor nodded, "Why wouldn't we do that?"  
"I don't know. I thought you might find it boring."  
"Is it boring?"  
"Last Christmas at Clara's wasn't." Star smiled at the memory.  
Clara raised her champagne flute, "To the last hurrah."  
The Doctor copied, "The last hurrah."

"The last hurrah," Star whispered and they clinked their glasses.

In their room, the Doctor argued with himself as he laid on the bottom bunk. "It's nothing. Nothing. Definitely. Sure. 99% sure. Really? 99%? That's quite high. Is that the figure you're sticking with? Okay, okay. 75. Well, that's jumped quite a bit. You've just lost 24%."

"Will you shut up!" Star snapped from the top bunk.

"What's wrong?" he called up to her.

"Im trying to sleep. If you want to argue with yourself, doing it quietly or even better in your head."

"Sorry," he whispered, "Because you know what this sounds like, don't you? No, do tell me. A mummy that only the victim can see. I was being rhetorical. I know exactly what this sounds like."

"Oh, for gods sake," Star grumbled, "just go."

"You're not coming?" he asked her, putting his jacket back on.

"No, I don't want to! Now get out!" she threw a pillow at him just as he slid out the door, expecting her to have thrown her dagger at him.

Moments later Clara was knocking at the door, "hello? Doctor, are you awake?"

Star jumped down from the top bunk, hurrying to open the door.

"Oh, Star. You know what never mind…" she turned to go back to his room.

"Dad's gone to find out what's happening," Star told her, "If you're quick you may meet him on the way to the lounge."

"Right." She nodded, "I'll go and get dressed then." She turned to leave but frowned and turned back to Star, "you didn't go with him?"

"I didn't want to in case this turned out to be a thing and I got the blame because it was my idea to come here. Night Clara." She closed the door on the human and slid down to the floor, her back resting against the door.

Clara knocked on the door again a few minutes later. Star had heard her enter her room next door and could guess that the woman had gotten dressed again "Star? Are you leaning against the door with you knees tucked to your chest with your arms hugging you're knees and head on her arms?"

She lifted her head up; surprised she would be able to know she was doing that, "maybe…" it was a comfortable position and stopped people entering her room when she didn't want them too.

The door handle shook as Clara tried to enter, "Star, open the door."

"No, I don't want to."

"Star, open the door."

"No!"

"…Are you okay?"

Star frowned, that didn't sound like she was talking to her, it sounded like there was someone outside in the corridor.

"Hello? Excuse me?" Clara continued, her voice getting quieter she walked off.

Star hesitated a moment, her hand hovering above the handle before quickly deciding to follow Clara. It didn't matter if there was a chance of her getting angry again, if she was separated and she was left to make a bad decision again. It would end in tears, worse than last time.

"Excuse me?" she followed Clara's voice as they walked down the narrow corridor, "Miss Pitt, wasn't it? Are you all right? Do you need some help?"  
"My name's Maisie." The woman, Miss Pitt, turned to Clara as they reached the baggage compartment, "I'm not mad."  
"I didn't say you were mad," Clara said slowly, "but you've had a bad day. I think anybody could do with a little bit of help after a day like today."  
"Computer, open the door." Maisie called to the panel to a heavy door, labelled Private Company Property, in the baggage cart.  
"Call me Gus." The computer replied, "I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order."  
"Are you okay?" Clara asked her.

Maisie broke down in tears as she tried to open the door "They won't let me see her body. They should let me see her body, shouldn't they?"  
"Er, yeah, I should think so. It's in there, is it? Okay, I have a, eh…I know a girl who's really good with locks. Do you want to come with me, she's in her room?"

"Turn around."

Clara turned to see Star behind her, still in her dress, expect the boa and headdress were missing, "were you following us."

She shrugged, "I heard you talking. Just wanted to make sure you were getting into any danger."

"That's…sweet of you."

Their little moment was interrupted as Maisie slammed the heel of her shoe onto the door pad, breaking it, opening the door.  
"Or you could do that because that works, too." Clara remarked, quickly following Maisie into the room. Star looked at the TARDIS, frowning before joining them as the door closed behind them, locking them in.

"Oh, great," Star groaned, moving to work on the wires of the key pad on that side.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Maisie watched her.

"Kinda. It'd be easier with a sonic but…" she trailed with a shrug, "Im clever."

"And stubborn," Clara added, "and full of yourself and you don't like rules and you think you're right all the time…"

"And now you're rambling."

"Must have picked up a few things from you."

"Hopefully only the good bits."

"Hmm."  
"Do you ever wish bad things on people?" Maisie wondered of them.  
"Oh, all the time." Star nodded, "Whoever designed this door, High Council of Gallifrey, other planets, other races, the Daleks, the Cybermen. My own dad once, may have sent my Godfather, his ex-friend, after him to try and kill him..."

"I think she gets it." Clara cut in.  
"She wasn't really my mum." Maisie remarked, "She just made me call her that. She was my gran. Do you know why I wanted to see her body?"

"Because you loved her very much and were missing her?"  
"No. You obviously never met her." Maisie chuckled, "No, I just felt really guilty. Like I'd been picturing her dying for years. Like a daydream. Not really meaning it. At least, I don't think I did. But now, it just feels like I made this happen."

"Stupid door!" Star punched the key pad…still nothing. She leaned on the wall, watching Clara comfort the woman, knowing she wouldn't be able to get them out, they could only wait and hope the Doctor realised they weren't in their rooms.  
"Hey, listen." Clara put a comforting arm around Maisie, "You didn't do anything wrong. Difficult people, they can make you feel all sorts of things. But you didn't do it. You didn't kill her. She just died."  
"Are you sure about that?" Maisie looked at her.

The girls sat on a box, sitting against the wall, Star eying the sarcophagus box at the far wall of the room as they talked, Maisie told them about her and her gran, telling them why she thought it was her fault as Clara explained about Star and the Doctor, the reason they were here in the first place.

"This Doctor." Maisie began, "He's your what, exactly?"  
"He's not my anything." Clara replied.  
"Oh, you mean you're just friends."  
"Well, he more my uncle, I suppose. Oh…would I still be your family?" She glanced at Star, not sure how she felt about that, as much as she hated them half the time, she'd miss them, she'd missed Stars hugs, but she loved being part of their family it made her feel special.  
"Well, that clearly isn't true." Maisie countered  
"It's true. It is. It's very true."

"It's not true," Star murmured,

"What?" she looked over at Star.

"You may not be our companion any more, but that doesn't stop you from being family. Come on, Clara, you're my favourite cousin."  
"You do seem to be here together." Maisie agreed.  
"This is a goodbye to the good times." Clara muttered.  
"Were the good times all like this?"

"Yes," Star answered promptly.  
Clara gave a small laugh, "Now that you mention it."

"They were good times, weren't they?"

"Yeah, they were."

Star grinned but it quickly faded as Clara wasn't grinning, but looking down at the floor. She really had made a huge mistake and ruined everything.

"If you don't mind my asking…what did they do?" Maisie asked.

"It's not really what they did, more what Star did."

"So, its you're fault?" Maisie turned to Star.

"100% my fault." She nodded, willing to take full blame.

"What did you do?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You sound just like the Doctor." Clara remarked to her.

But to Star that wasn't a compliment that what she was hoping for on the moon. What she did was her trying to be like her father but in doing that she had messed everything up. Maybe she wasn't fit to take after him. When she did things his way they didn't work, she needed to do things her own way.

"Oh, she wrong." Maisie agreed as Clara told her about what happen with the moon hatching. With the Doctor and Star having left her to make the right choice.  
"Yes. Yes. Yes, they were. See?" she nudged Star, "see agrees with me."

"I know," Star nodded, "and I regret it, ok. I could have told you what I had planned, SHOULD have told you. Then you wouldn't be as mad at me."  
"And high-handed and, and thoughtless and, arrogant beyond belief." Maisie continued.  
"Exactly." Clara nodded.  
"And you got on a train with them."  
Clara blinked, "I'm saying goodbye. You can't end it on a slammed door."

"Yes, you can." Star looked at Clara meaningly, "I've ended a lot of relationships with people I love on closed doors with argument and never spoke to them again."

"But that's you," Clara pointed out, "im not you. You're…you do things…you know what im trying to say."

She really didn't want to say what she was getting out, she didn't know exactly how to say it without hurting the girl any more that she already had. Ok, the girl hurt her with her plan but they were both trying to forget it happened.

"Yeah I do," Star blinked back tears, "im different, insane, mad, bonkers…a monster. I know what people say about me and I don't want to be the person everything thinks I am."  
"Anyone can end on a relationship on a closed door," Maisie got them back on the main topic they were on, "People do it all the time. Except, of course, when they can't." she sighed, "Life would be so much simpler if you liked the right people. People you're supposed to like. But then, I guess there'd be no fairy tales."

"Clara? Star?" the Doctor called on the comm. at that moment.

Star exhaled, "hi dad."  
"Wake up sleepy head. Time for breakfast. Knowing this train, it'll taste amazing."  
"Doctor," Clara cut him off, "please, we're in trouble."  
"Can't even get that right, huh?"  
"Doctor."

"Bad food on trains is traditional."  
"Doctor…"  
"Listen; there's been another mummy murder. So our last hurrah just became a bit more interesting."

Clara sighed and looked at Star, "you normally get him to shut up."  
"I'll never speak to you again," Star said.

"What did I do?" he called.

"Nothing, I needed to get you to shut up so I can tell you that we're trapped."  
"What? Where are you? Are you alone?"  
"In a room in the baggage cart. With Clara and Miss Pitt."  
The Doctor went silent and they assumed that meant he was running to see them. He knew it would be a bad night with them alone, especially if they did end up snapping. They were doing so well right now, keeping calm and friendly.

They were proven right when they heard him pounding on the door. "Star! Clara! Is that you?"  
"Yes!" she called, "its us."  
"Ow!" the Doctor cried as he tried to sonic the door open, "Computer, can you open the door, please?  
"Call me Gus." The computer replied, "I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order."  
"Oh. Forget it." he groaned, the door stuttered but stopped, "Oh. Now the stupid sonic…"  
"What?" Clara asked.  
"Screwdriver's not working."  
"What? What do you mean, it's not working? Why?"

"I don't know. Some sort of a suppression field, I would guess. And it has to be a guess because, as I say, the stupid sonic screwdriver's not working. What are you even doing in there?"  
"Well, we were looking for you. Mr Nothing To Worry About."  
"What, was I supposed to waken you up? Drag you out of bed. Even Star didn't want to get up."

"I was tired!" she defended. It was kind of the truth, she was tired, but she was tired because of her headache, they seemed to be getting worse, never leaving, sometimes they were more painful than others, but they were always there, a small pounding in the back of her head. She could now understand why the Master went mad. It was enough to drive anyone completely crazy like him.  
"I had a hunch." The Doctor ignored her and spoke to Clara, "I thought you didn't want to do this any more."  
"Look, please, can we just not do this now?" Clara pleaded, "I think we might not be alone in here. There's a sarcophagus."  
He paused a moment, "Is it in there?"

The light on the sarcophagus changed from red to green as it began to open.  
"I think we might just be about to find out." Star remarked, "Turns out the sonic is working just not on the door we need." The lights flickered.  
"It's coming." The Doctor breathed, frantically working the lock, needing to get them our, needing to get Star out, needing to get them both out. They pair of them in the same room, alone with a human who didn't seem quite perfect in the head right now. Just one wrong word or misunderstanding and the whole universe might just end.  
"Star!" Clara shouted as the girl approached the Sarcophagus.

"It's okay. " Star let out a breath as it fully opened, "It's full of bubble wrap…"  
"But the lights?" the Doctor mused.  
"Doctor, move away from the door." They heard the guard order.  
"My daughter and friend are inside. Im not leaving them."

"See he isn't willing to leave." Clara muttered.

"Now?" Star huffed, "you want to do this now?!"

"Both of you stop it!" the Doctor snapped through the door.  
"Then they're in trouble, too." The guard continued, "I spoke to Head Office. There is no mystery shopper. You're not even on the passenger list."  
"Star, Clara, I'm going to have to call you back."

They could hear the footsteps fading away meaning the guards were either escorting the Doctor off or dragging him away.  
"Looks like it's just us then," Clara remarked.

"Well, we either have our argument now or see what in this box." Star tapped the box they were sat on.

"Box." She answered automatically, "Definitely rummage through the box."

"You'll have to let me explain one day."

They rummaged through the papers, finding all sorts of interesting facts. Finding out that the Foretold Mummy had been on a few other ships that Maisie had recognised.

Clara phone rang and she answered it.

"Clara," the Doctor greeted.

"The sarcophagus is actually a secure stasis unit." She told him.  
"Yes. It's where they want us to put the Foretold if we capture it."  
"Why didn't you tell us?" Star asked.  
"Sorry." He offered. "Teeny bit busy round here. What else?"  
"Please terminate your call and return to work." The computer called.  
"We have some paperwork. Passenger manifests from other ships. Maisie recognised a couple of the names. These are missing ships."  
"So, we're not the first."  
"Doesn't look like it."

"I've got some progress reports." Clara cut in, getting them back on topic. "The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor. The Valiant Heart. 42 crew, 4 died. Performance, promising."

"I've got to go," the Doctor said softly, sounding distracted by something.  
"Why?" Star frowned.

"Im busy."

"No wait, tell me!" she began, groaning when he hung up. "Just us again then."

"Great." Clara grumbled.

"We're doing well so far."

"I am so bored!" Star whined, pacing the room in her boredom.

"Yes, I know you're bored, you don't have to keep repeating yourself," Clara moaned.

"Make the boredom go away, Clara." She rested her head on the woman's shoulder.

"We are not having that talk if that what you getting at."

"Im gonna miss you," she murmured into the woman's shoulder.

"What?" Clara blinked, not sure if she had heard Star say that or not. Sometimes the girl said things without even realising she said them, "I'll miss you too. Gingerbread," she nudged her.

"I like it when you call me Gingerbread."

"You're being nice. Why?" Clara demanded lightly.

"Because I ruined everything. And now we'll have to find another stupid human to replace you."

"Hey! Not all of us humans are stupid."

"No one else is you. No one else went in dads timeline, splitting themselves into millions of pieces to save us."

"Well, I couldn't just stand and watch you both die when I could save you, now could I?"

"Yes, you could have done. Vastra did."

They were cut in from the touching moment when Clara's phone rang, Star picked it up, "what now?"

"It wants Maisie," he stated.

"Why?" she glanced at the woman, "She's just having a bad day."

"It doesn't care. Her bad day, her bereavement, her little breakdown puts her squarely in its cross hairs. She's next. Every simulation we've run confirms it."

"What are you even doing?"  
"Long story."

"So, it can teleport then?" she guessed, otherwise why tell them, she'd be safe in here, it wouldn't be able to get in otherwise.  
"Yeah. We need her here. Even the computer agrees."  
"So you can save her?" Clara called, having been listening, wanting to know what was happening, it was her last day with them, she didn't want them to leave her out, "Right?"  
"Of course not." He scoffed, "Why would you think that? This is another chance to observe it in action."  
"As it kills her."  
"Of course, as it kills her. So bring her to us."  
"Ok." Star hung up the phone.

Clara silently shook her head at Star as Maisie asked, "What'd he saying?"

This was not how Star wanted the trip to turn out like, she didn't want Clara to leave hating them because they had killed someone, but that's what they did, no, that's what her dad did, but he dragged her into the same issue, making her end up helping him.

"Star," Clara whispered, "don't, please."

She turned to Maisie, fixing a grin, "He says he can save you."

The door opened and they walked out.

"I knew he could get us out of there. I told you, he's a good man." Maisie smiled.

Clara tried to walk to the TARDIS, only to find out she couldn't, "shield around her," Star informed her.  
Clara ignored her and answered Maisie, "Yes. Yes, he is."  
"And to be honest," Maisie continued, "I don't know how convinced I am by this trauma sense thing, but if the Doctor says he can help me anyway, I mean, that has to be a good thing, doesn't it, Clara?"

"Did you know?" Clara turned to Star, asking her quietly so Maisie didn't hear, "you did, didn't you?"

"No," she answered honestly, "I didn't. Clara I was with you, how could I have known? Please…"

"This was your plan from the beginning wasn't it? You planned this. I was starting to forgive you and then you do this."

"I had no idea, I swear, Clara. I didn't know."

The door opened to the lounge or more the lab as it seemed to be now. The three girls walked in and the Doctor hurried over.

"Hello, again." Maisie smiled, shaking the Doctors hand, "I'm Maisie."  
"Good for you." he nodded.  
"We passed the TARDIS on the way here." Clara told him, "Thought about getting inside, hiding, pulling the levers and hoping for the best. But we couldn't even get in. There was a force field around it."

The Doctor used a scanner on Maisie, "It's probably Gus trying to block our escape route."  
"But how does he even know what the TARDIS is?" Star countered, "Cos if he knows what it is, then he knows what we are."  
"Well, he has tried to entice us here before. Free tickets, mysterious summons, he even phoned the TARDIS number. Do you know how difficult a number…"  
"You knew." Clara cut him off, "You knew this was no relaxing break. You knew this was dangerous."  
"I didn't know. I certainly hoped."

"Clara I didn't. I tried to pilot us to a different time, away from the danger." Star told her honestly.  
"Ok, this." Clara nodded, not believing Star at all, no matter how much she insisted she was telling the truth, both of them always lied to her, she hated it, "You see, this. This is why I'm leaving you. This. Because you lied. You lied to me, again. You've made me your accomplice."  
"What?" Maisie frowned, "Sorry? When did you lie? Clara? Star?"  
Clara turned to her, "Maisie, I am so sorry."  
But Maisie was pointing to something no one else could see, the mummy had arrived.  
"Do we start the clock?" the engineer wondered.  
"Not yet." the Doctor stood in front of Maisie flashing the scanner in her face. "Focus. Focus. Focus! All of that is your grief, your trauma, your resentment. And now…" he zapped the scanner to his head, "its mine."  
"It's gone." Maisie breathed.  
"No. No, it's not. Not for me. Cos now it thinks I'm you."  
"Start the clock." He turned to the mummy that only he could see, "Hello. I'm so pleased to finally see you. I'm the Doctor and I will be your victim this evening. Are you my mummy?" he turned to Star, "haven't said that in a while."

"What?" she shook her head, "is this an adventure you had without me? If it is…"

"Oops," he winced, turning back to the mummy. He hadn't told her his adventure with the nanogenes when he first met Jack Harkness, "But you can't hurt me until my time is up. I think. So are there magic words? Is there a way to stop you in your tracks? Oh, you really didn't like your gran, did you? There's something visible under the bandages. By the way, you weren't being paranoid. She really did poison your pony."  
"Oh!" Maisie blinked.

"Markings like the ones the scroll. Oh, and your father. Sorry."  
"What?"  
"A tattered piece of cloth attached to a length of wood that you will kill for."  
"30 seconds." The engineer called.  
"That doesn't sound like a scroll. That sounds like a flag! And if that sounds like a flag, if this is a flag, that means that you are a soldier, wounded in a forgotten war thousands of years ago. But they've worked on you, haven't they, son? They've filled you full of kit. State of the art phase camouflage, personal teleporter."  
"10 seconds."  
"And all that tech inside you, it just won't let you die, will it? It won't let the war end. It just won't let you stop until the war is over. We surrender."  
"Zero…"

"I can see it again." Maisie gasped.

"We all can," Star remarked, watching as the mummy stepped back from the Doctor, lowering its arm.  
"Do I start the clock?" the engineer wondered.  
"I don't think we need to."  
The mummy saluted the Doctor, "The clock has stopped." The Doctor said, "You're relieved, soldier."

The mummy disintegrated into a pile of dust and bandages.  
"Phew." The engineer sighed, "He's not the only one."

Star picked up the blue tech from the remains of the mummy, "this is what we were fighting?"  
"So was he." The Doctor added  
"Listen, what I said…" Clara began.  
"Save it." the Doctor cut her off, "We're not out of the woods yet. Well, Gus, I think we solved your little puzzle. Ancient soldier being driven by malfunctioning tech."  
"Thank you so much for your efforts." Gus called, "They are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, survivors of this exercise are not required."  
"That's surprising," Star muttered sarcastically as the Doctor soniced the tech.  
"Air will now be removed from the entire train." Gus announced and everyone began to choke, finding it suddenly hard to breath, "We hope you have enjoyed your journey on the Orient Express."  
"I take it you know a way out?" Clara choked,  
"My enemy's enemy is my friend." The Doctor reasoned, "Especially when he has a built in teleporter."  
Many of the passengers, passed out.

"Great! So use it!" Clara cried.  
"A little more work."  
"Doctor!"  
"Couple of minutes. Max. I'll give you a shout."

"Here," Star took over, pulling on a small wire just as the train exploded as Clara fainted.

They managed to get everyone off in time, everyone still alive, just about. They tried to find out what Gus was and why he needed them. As Star said, he obviously knew they were Time Lords. They got changed after they took everyone to the closest planet, left them all at a hospital, all in good care.

The Doctor was drawing in the sand with a stick as Star sat on the pebbles, Clara's head on her lap as the woman was covered with blankets for warmth when she slowly woke.

"Sorry, im not a very comfy pillow." Star apologised.

"Oh hello, again." the Doctor glanced up seeing her awake, "Sleep well?"  
"Weren't we just on a train?" she frowned, seeing them on a beach.  
"Oh, that was ages ago."  
"And?"  
"And what? Oh, and we got off the train. Oh, well, Star got the teleporter to work. She's brilliant like that. Beamed everyone into the TARDIS. No casualties, just a bevy of sleeping beauties. I tried hacking Gus from the TARDIS, find out who set this all up. He really didn't like that. Set off some fail-safe thing. Blew up the train."  
"Blew up the train?"  
"Blew up the train. But we got away. Then I dropped everyone off at the nearest civilised planet, which happened to be here." Behind them was a various of tall buildings with the pink sky behind them.  
"You were sleeping peacefully so we let you continue," Star added.  
"So you saved everyone." Clara murmured.  
"No, we just saved you and we let everyone else suffocate." The Doctor countered, "Ha, ha, ha."  
"Hmm.  
"Yeah, this is just my cover story."  
"So, when you lied to Maisie…" she looked at Star.  
"I couldn't risk Gus finding out my plan and stopping me."  
"So you were pretending to be heartless."

"We do have two hearts, Clara." Star reminded her, "We actually care far more than we let on."  
"Would you like to think that about us?" the Doctor eyed her, "Would that make it easier? I didn't know if I could save her. I couldn't save Quell, I couldn't save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that she'd die too. At which point, I would have just moved onto the next, and the next, until I beat it. Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. But you still have to choose."

Clara blinked and turned to Star, "can we talk?" she glanced at the Doctor, "alone?"

Star and Clara sat at the kitchen table both with a cup of tea as they talked. The Doctor was in the console room, saying goodbye to Perkins, though they both knew of the chance that he was going to ask the man to be a companion. when Clara said she didn't want Star to explain, she meant them having an argument, a calm talk she was alright with, but she knew never to argue or fight with tar, the girl knew how to manipulate you to loose.

"You left." Clara murmured, "You both left. Leaving me with Lundvik and Courtney alone on the moon to make an impossible choice to decide the fate of the Earth or whatever was hatching in the moon. You left saying that it wasn't your moon but you're on Earth so much that it SHOULD be you're moon."

"We didn't leave because it wasn't our moon." Star sighed, "We left because we trusted you enough that we, I, felt you deserved the chance to make the impossible choices that we make. What you did…the choice you made on the moon. That's the choice we face everyday. One innocent life or an entire planet."

"Like with the Moment." Clara frowned, "Gallifrey or the universe. To save the entire universe you lost your home planet."

"Exactly."

"Why? Why did you make me do that? Im only human while your both, I dunno, the gods of the universe."

"We wanted you to know that we don't just see you as the companion. We do actually see you as our family. As someone we know we can trust so that if we're not around for whatever reason, there is someone who we know will make the right decision, no matter how tough, the right decision will be made."

"You trust me that much?" Clara breathed. Shocked at that, when she first began travelling with them, before the time tunnel incident, she knew they, especially the Doctor, didn't trust her and had actually shouted at her about his distrust but since then, they had trusted her with so much. They had been through so much together.

"I trust you with my lifes." Star told her honestly, "and the Doctor trusts you with mine."

The Doctor never really trusted her and Amy to be alone together, at first it was because of the fact that Amy had snogged him and she had being threatening to kill her but even after she got married he didn't trust the two alone together. He was ishy with her and Rory, many because he was jealous how much she loved him but he never said anything about her being alone with Clara, just automatically trusted that nothing would happen with them two together.

Star glanced at Clara phone that she had placed on the table as it rang, the caller ID showing that it was Danny, "I don't think your boyfriend would be very happy if you didn't answer his calls."

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"Answer your phone, Clara."

"Hey, Danny. How are you?" she waited for his replied, "Yep. Mission accomplished. Listen, I can't talk now but I'll see you soon and, er, I love you. Huh. No accounting for taste."  
Star glanced up at the call ended, looking back down again as Clara met her eyes. She was staring hard enough if she kept it up she may just burn a whole through the table. "What did he want?"  
She watched her, seeing her upset that she had said she wanted to stop. Seeing how she had snapped just because she had showed her how important she was to them. She couldn't do it. She couldn't just leave them, no today, they were her family, you can't just give up on your family after one bad day, "He's fine with it."  
"Fine with what?" she looked up with wide sad eyes.  
"Danny. He's fine with the idea of us knocking about. It was his idea that we stop but, he's decided he doesn't mind and neither do I. Oh, to hell with the last hurrah. Let's keep going."  
"Really?" she perked up.

"Yeah. How can I say no to my adorable little cousin?" She gave her a big hug from behind, grinning.

"I think you'll find that you're the little cousin, Clara." She giggled, turning to give her a big hug as well.

"Just make sure you get me home in time."

"That's a promise I can keep. Come on, gotta tell dad the fantastic news!" she grinned and tugged her off.


	9. Flatline

"You can leave all that stuff here, Clara," Star remarked as Clara came up the stairs from collecting her stuff, "We do have plenty of rooms."  
"Oh, no. It's all right." Clara waved her off, "Danny's got a little bit territorial. The idea of me leaving so much as a toothbrush here. But, still, he's all right with us doing this which I admit is a little bit weird, cos you'd think if he had a problem with me leaving stuff in the TARDIS, he'd object to me travelling in the TARDIS. But he's not, so..."  
"Sorry. Stopped listening a while ago." The Doctor admitted, "Okay. Er, same time you left, same place-ish."  
"Ish? Don't give me an ish."  
"These readings are very er, ishy." He frowned at them.

"This is also pretty ishy," Star murmured, looking at the doors…only for them to be smaller than usual.  
Clara followed her gaze, "Er, Doctor?"  
"Uh huh?" he walked around the console, joining them, following their gaze to the doors.

~.~

Star squeezed out first, the Doctor struggling behind her and Clara easily squeezed out and shut the door behind her.  
"Well." The Doctor fumbled, very confused, at the now smaller TARDIS, "Well, I wonder what caused this? I don't think we're bigger, are we?" he scanned Clara.  
"Bristol?" Clara shouted, seeing a sign in the distance, "Doctor, we're in Bristol!"  
"And a 120 miles from where we should be. Impressive."  
"No. Not impressive. Annoying."  
"No. This is impressive." He pointed to the shrunken TARDIS, "This is annoying." He pointed at Clara, "The TARDIS never does this. This is huge!"

"Well, not literally huge." Star corrected, "The old girls slightly smaller than usual."

"Which is huge."  
"Yes. I get it." Clara cut in, clearly irritated being in Bristol and not home, "You're excited. When can I go home?"  
"Is your house going anywhere?" Star asked her.

"And neither is ours until I get this figured out." The Doctor commented, "Could you not just let me enjoy this moment of not knowing something? I mean, it happens so rarely. Look, I don't think this is dangerous, but I wouldn't like you to get squished accidentally. Anyway, I need you to help me find out what's caused this."  
"Fine." Clara huffed, "I'll go take a look around." She walked off to the town as the Doctor and Star squeezed back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor quickly hurrying to examine a circuit on the console, when there was a jolt and the alarms blared.

"What did you do?" Star demanded, holding onto the console.  
"That wasn't me." He held his hands up in defence.

They glanced at each other before looking towards the door, "oh, that cant be good," the Doctor murmured as Star groaned. The doors were even smaller now, too small for either of them to get out or Clara to get in, they were only about 6 inches high, and they could guess the exterior was only that tall

~.~

A few minutes later Clara called them, and Star answered, "Hey, I think I've found something. People are missing all over the estate. Do you think there's a connection?"  
"Could be." Star nodded.  
"And where are you?  
She sighed, "we haven't moved."  
"No, you're not. I'm here and I can't see. Oh…"

"Yeah…"

They heard Clara laugh as she spotted the TARDIS, "Oh, my God, that is so adorable. Are you in there?"  
"Yes, we are."

"And, no, it's not adorable." The Doctor added, "It's very, very serious."  
"So is this more shrink ray stuff?" Clara asked, "Are you tiny in there?"  
"No. we're exactly the same size. It's merely the exterior dimensions that have changed." He opened the small door, peering out. "Stop laughing. This is serious."

"Yeah, well, I can't help it, can I, with you and your big old face. How are you going to get out?"  
"Well, plainly we can't. Something nearby is leeching all the external dimensions."  
"Aliens?"

"Most likely," Star called from the console.  
"Sensors are down and we can't risk taking off with it in this state." The Doctor said, "Clara, I need you to pick up the TARDIS. Carefully. It should be possible. I've adjusted the relative gravity."  
"You mean you've made it lighter." Clara picked the small TARDIS up.  
"Clara, if the TARDIS landed with its true weight, it would fracture the surface of the Earth." Star explained to her.  
"Yeah, maybe a story for another time. What now?"  
"We've managed to get a rough fix on the source of the dimensional leeching." The Doctor told her, poking his fingers out, "It's roughly north west. That way."  
Clara leaned away from his hands, "Please don't do that. That's just wrong."

The Doctor looked back at Star, "Star…"

"Got them," she cut him off, handing him the sonic and psychic paper.

"That's my girl," he smiled at her, turning back to peer at Clara, "Now, listen! You're going to need these." He handed her the sonic and paper.

"Oh, wow." Clara smiled, pocketing the sonic and paper, "This is an honour. Does this mean I'm you now?"  
"No, it does not, so don't get any ideas." He said, a stern look in his eye as she placed the TARDIS in her bag, "And listen, stick this in your ear." He handed her a small earpiece.

"Can you hear me?" Star called, pulling a lever on the console.  
"Yes." She replied. Star pressed a button, "Ow!" Clara winced, "What just happened?"  
"Nanotech. I just hacked your optic nerve."  
"What does that mean?"  
"We see what you see on the monitor." She twisted a knob, getting a better picture.

~.~

Clara turned around, scanning with the sonic back in town, near the subway, she aimed it at a block of flats, then a mural of hand prints, foot prints and tire tracks, "Anything?" she called.

"Yes, I'm dizzy." The Doctor answered as they watched on the monitor, "But nothing useful."  
A young black man walked over to Clara, "You never did tell me your name."  
"We don't have time for you to flirt, get rid of him," Star hissed.  
"I'm er," Clara paused a second before smirking, "I'm the Doctor."

"Don't you dare." The Doctor snarled.  
"Doctor Oswald. But you can call me Clara."  
"I'm Risby." The man smiled, "So er, what are you a doctor of?"

"Of lies." The Doctor hissed.  
"Well, I'm usually quite vague about that." Clara flipped the sonic, "I think I just picked the title because it makes me sound important."

"Oh, Doctor Oswald, you are hilarious." Star laughed, "keep this up, please. I could do with some entertainment."

"Could we get back to work, do you think?" the Doctor asked.  
"What are you exactly?" Risby asked Clara, "You don't look like police but that's some pretty cool gear you got there. You like a spy, or something?"

"Oh, he's a bright one, hang on to him." the Doctor grumbled.

Risby led Clara into a flat of one of the many people who had gone missing.

"He was the last one to go missing." Risby explained as he pulled the police tape off the door of the flat, "And when he disappeared all the doors and windows were locked from the inside."  
"Ooh, now you're talking." The Doctor perked up at that, "I love a good locked room mystery."  
Clara looked around the room, a bookcase of CD's to the side alone with an interesting mural on the wall, looking like cracked sand.

"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" Clara murmured.  
"What?" Risby turned to her, unable to hear the Doctor or Star.  
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm talking to somebody else. They're listening in. Doctor, Star, Risby. Risby, the Doctor and Star."

"Hello, barely sentient local." The Doctor greeted, despite knowing the man couldn't hear them.  
"Another Doctor?" Risby raised an eyebrow.  
"How do you sleep at night?" Star wondered.

"Missing people, tiny TARDIS, what's the link?" the Doctor shook his head.  
"I think this is great that someone's finally looking into this." Risby remarked as Clara scanned around again, "The police weren't doing anything. They never do on this estate. People were thinking that no one was listening. That no one cared. So, yeah. I think it's great what you're doing."

"Clara, look, I think that we can manage on our own from now on."

"Yeah, well, I think he could still be useful." Clara argued.  
"He's a pudding brain. Worse than that, he's a fluorescent pudding brain."  
"Okay, fine. And all those other missing people, I suppose you know where they lived."

"He could still be in the room." Risby continued.  
"Sorry, what?" Clara looked at him.  
"Sorry, nothing. I was just thinking out loud."

"It's like one of those locked room things you get in books. It's always something weird, like; he's still in the room or something. Do you want to go and check out another flat?"  
"I think that you were wrong about him." Star muttered, "I think that he could be useful. Vital local knowledge."  
"Oh, really?" Clara scoffed.  
"Yes. So don't scare him off."  
"How would I scare him off?"

"I've got a list going."

"Oi!"

"I'm only joking, Clara!"

Well, she did have a list off all the reasons Clara could scare people off, but that was private and she used it to help remind her of all the ways not to annoy Clara. She had added 2 more pages since the moon incident.

"Maybe he's lost in the desert or something…" Risby mused.  
"Okay, right…" Clara nodded slowly. "Are we missing something here? Missing man, locked room." She scanned the mural, "Shrink ray?"

"Sorry, did you say just say shrink ray?"  
"What if he is still in this room like you said, only tiny? You know, like underneath the sofa or something."  
"Clara, this is the scaring off that we were talking about." Star told her.

"Okay. So er, my lunch break's nearly up." Risby headed back to the door, "This has been er, interesting."

"See what I mean?"  
"Clara, local knowledge is leaving. Do something!" the Doctor called.  
"Risby!" Clara shouted, stopping him from leaving, "One sec. Doctor, open the doors."

"I didn't mean that!"

"Look, you want him to stay or not?"

"You really do throw your companions in at the deep end, don't you?

"Risby, come here. Meet the Doctor and Star."

The Doctor opened the doors as Clara set the TARDIS on the mantel as they stood by the console.

"So, what do you think?" Clara smiled, stepping to the side so Risby could see them, "Tiny man idea."

"Yes, it's a lovely thought." The Doctor cut in, "Which is why I set the sonic to scan for that as soon as we entered. Pleased to meet you." he nodded at the man.

"Hi." Star waved.  
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Clara asked, rolling her eyes, she should have expected that.  
"Well, of course he might have been squashed under a policeman's shoe by now." The Doctor defended.  
"It's bigger. On the inside." Risby breathed.  
"That statement has never been truer." Star laughed.  
"What are you? Like, aliens, or something?"  
"No." Clara replied, "Well, they are." She nodded to the Time Lords…when an alarm went off inside the TARDIS, "Doctor? Star, did you hear that?"

"Yes. Whatever it was, it just drained a massive amount of energy from inside the TARDIS." The Doctor remarked.

"What was it?"

"I don't know, but that's the least of our problems."

"Just get us out of here." Star instructed, slamming the doors shut.  
"Okay. Go. Risby, this is where we run. Stick with me." Clara picked up the TARDIS and they ran out of the flat.

"I mean this is just embarrassing." The Doctor murmured, pacing around the console, "we're from the race that built the TARDIS. Dimensions are kind of our thing. So why can't we understand this?"

"Clara, we need more info." Star told her as the woman and Risby ran into the street. "Where else have people disappeared?" if they could find that out, it would help them find out what's taking them and what's happening to the TARDIS…because, she didn't know either. And for neither of them to have a clue, that really was something.

~.~

Clara and Risby had found a policewoman, and had managed to persuade her to help them find out about the other missing people, the woman, PC Forest, led them to another flat.

"MI5?" the woman frowned at the physic paper.  
"Yes, this case has got our attention." Clara nodded.  
"Well, you've come to the right place, ma'am. First reported disappearance, a Mr Heath. It's not on the estate, but it's exactly the same MO as the rest"  
"Clara, I think that your shrink ray theory was wrong." The Doctor called.  
"My shrink ray theory?" Clara repeated quietly, "I thought you were already scanning for that."  
"It's like they vanished." Forest continued.  
"Doctor? What are you doing?" Clara asked.  
"It just struck me." The Doctor stated, "Locked room mysteries. Classic solution number one, they're still in the room. Classic solution number two, they're in the walls." As he spoke, Star ran down the stairs and quickly ran over to the doors, holding a hammer, grinning madly.  
"What do you mean, they're in the…" Clara trailed as she pulled the hammer from her bag, sighing knowing it had been Stars idea to use the hammer.  
"Have we done as much as we could?" Forest was speaking still, no idea to the conversation between Clara and the Time lords, "No. Do we have any suspects? No. Off the record, I think the top brass are hoping if they ignore this it'll all just go away." She turned and frowned at Clara seeing the woman holding the hammer.  
"Apparently they're in the walls." She supplied, handing Risby the hammer. The man slamming it into the walls as Forest answered her phone as it rang.  
"PC Forrest." She answered, "Yes, sir. MI5, sir." She left the room to speak in private.  
"So, you and those people in a box." Risby made conversation, "You do this sort of stuff a lot?"  
"Oh, well, they're usually out of the box." Clara said, "But, yep."

"So how'd you get this gig? You study science, or aliens, or something?"  
"No." Clara laughed, "Well, it's kind of a more of a right place, right time or wrong place, wrong time depending on how they're behaving."  
"We can still hear you," Star reminded her.

Clara opened her mouth to reply when they heard PC Forest scream from the other room. Clara and Risby took of running, only for her to not be there.  
"PC Forrest?" Clara called, frowning, "Hello? Hello?" PC Forests' torch was on the carpet in front of the mural on the wall behind the sofa. "She's gone."

Star closed her eyes, another person dead because of them.  
"What am I missing?" the Doctor murmured, "The TARDIS should be able to detect anything in the known universe. The known universe. This universe."  
"Wait!" Star shouted, seeing Clara looking around the room, "That mural. That is a nervous system scaled up and flattened. I think we've found PC Forrest or what's left of her."  
"Her nervous system." Clara stared at the red squiggling mural on the wall.  
The Doctor brought up the sand-like mural from the other flat on the scanner, "The mural in the flat. That wasn't a desert at all. It's a microscopic blow up of human skin."  
"What? Why?"  
"Whatever they are, they are experimenting. They're testing. They are, they are dissecting. Trying to understand us. Trying to understand three dimensions."  
There was a sizzle and a hiss from the flat and the door handle flattened.  
"Ow." Risby winced as he tried to grab it, "The handle."  
"Doctor. The handle, they've flattened the handle."

"Fascinating. Clara, they're in the walls!"

"Keep away from them." Star warned, "If they touch you, you're finished."  
The sofa was flattened.  
"What happens if they touch us?" Risby asked as the chair was flattened.  
"I really don't want to find out." Clara breathed, following Risby onto a hanging chair in the middle of the room.  
"They can't jump, can they?"  
Clara phone ran and she answered, "hey you." she greeted.

"I've got our bench." They heard Danny on the other side of the line, "Did you get held up?"

"Just a little. Sorry, Danny. I think lunch is er, a bust."  
"Oh, hon, you're missing some classic park action."

"Clara, the window!" Star shouted as whatever it was made the carpet wobble as it approached Clara and Risby.  
"Look!" Risby cried as the mantel wobbled as did the walls, "Look! They're climbing the walls."  
"Who was that?" Danny asked after a slight hesitation.  
"Er, that's just a guy on community support and I'm helping him find his auntie." Clara bit her lip.

"Not technically lying." Star shrugged, "not bad."

"Sounds kind of…" Danny paused thinking of the word, "active."

Clara began to swing the chair, trying to help them get out the window, "Er, yeah, there was a thing, er a thing."

"Where are you and are you in trouble?"

"No, no, no, I'm fine!" she soniced the window and the chain broke from the ceiling, sending the chair crashing outside.  
"Clara?" Danny called, panicked as he heard her scream as they crashed, "Clara?"

"Danny?" Clara called, safe outside on the front garden.  
"What's happening?"  
"Oh, not much, just some nonsense. Long story."  
"What story?"  
"Tell you later. Love you!" she hung up.

"This explains everything." The Doctor remarked, "They're from a universe with only two dimensions. And, yes, that is a thing. It's long been theorised, of course, but no one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet."  
"And what long story are you going to tell Danny?" Star asked, "Or haven't you made it up yet?"  
"Sorry, what?" Clara asked, trying to play innocent, "What was that?"

"Excellent lying, Doctor Oswald."  
"Yeah? Well, thought it was pretty weak myself."

"She meant to us." The Doctor said, "You told us that Danny was okay with you being back on board the TARDIS."

"Well, he is."

"Yeah, because he doesn't know anything about it." Star remarked. "Are you ashamed of us, is that why you didn't tell him? Because that hurts to know you are ashamed of us."

"Star…" Clara began.  
"Congratulations." The Doctor mocked, "Lying is a vital survival skill."  
"Well, there you go."

"And a terrible habit." Star added. She only lied because she'd learnt to from the Doctor. With it just the two of them for so long, she pick things up from him, especially lying.

"Ah, you're breaking up a bit." Clara winced, getting static in her ear.  
"Yeah, of course I am."  
"No, really, you are. I can't hear you."

"What?" she blinked, having assumed Clara was just saying that to get out of the conversation, "Oh, right, blowing out that window's possibly affected the earpiece. Take it out and sonic it."

"Doing it." the view went to the ground as she took the piece out of her ear, flashing the sonic on it.  
"Hey!" Risby cried, "They can't do that. Hey! What you doing?"  
"Our job." Another man answered, "You're on report, by the way. Late back from lunch."  
"Does it even still count as lying if you're doing for someone's own good?" Clara wondered, putting the earpiece back in her ear, "Well, like, technically their own good."  
"It's a memorial!" Risby defended.

"Council didn't approve it, it's graffiti." The older man countered, "Stan." Risby grabbed the other man, Stan's, paint brush.  
"What is that?" Star frowned at the mural.

"Look, Clara." The Doctor called, seeing what Star had realised, "Talk to me, talk to me!"  
"What are you doing?" Risby continued.

Star hurried to the doors, sticking her hand out, poking Clara on the arm, getting her attention, "it's the mural, Clara! The missing people are in the walls!"  
"What do I do?" Cara asked quietly.

"Get everyone out, act as normal as possible."

"They're very realistic." Clara remarked to the others, "Who painted them?"  
"I don't know." Risby shook his head, "A local artist. Probably a grieving relative."  
"Did you ever meet them? Or did they just appear after people disappeared?"  
"And who are you when you're at home, love?" the older man demanded.  
Clara held out the physic paper, "Health and safety. This subway is unsafe. Everyone needs to leave right now."  
"This is blank. Try again, sweetheart."  
"What?" Clara blinked, the paper always worked, or at least it did with the Doctor and Star. Did she do it wrong?

"He's either very clever or very dull," Star murmured, "I'm going to say dull."

"Stan. Do your job." The older man turned to the other man.  
"Clara, stop him." the Doctor instructed, but was too late, the man's brush touched the painting and he was sucked into the wall with a cry.  
"Stan!" Risby yelled.  
And then the paintings slowing turned to face them all.

"What is this?" another man asked, "What are they?"  
"They're wearing the dead like camouflage." The Doctor stared at the screen intently, watching closely.  
"Forget Stan. Your friend's gone." Clara told the group.  
"Clara, get them out of there!"  
"We need to move. Now."  
They ran off as the paintings slid off the wall, sliding across the tarmac on the ground.

~.~

They stopped running as the reached a train shed, Clara quickly scanning the door with the sonic.

"Did they follow us?" a man panted, looking back, "Cos I didn't see them follow us. Are we safe?"

"Are we really hiding from killer graffiti?" another scoffed, "This is insane."  
"I agree." The Doctor nodded, "We'll have to think of a better name for them than that."

"And Stan was one of them. Flattened, dead, but coming after us."  
"Clara, this is a vital stage." Star stated, "This little group is currently confused and disorientated but pretty soon a leader is going to emerge. Make sure you're the leader."  
"I'm on it." she nodded, leaning the group inside the shed, "George. George, isn't it? Can you watch that area? If you hear anything, anything moves, you shout, okay?"  
"He will do no such thing until I get some answers. Who are you?" the older man demanded, "That's what I want to know. Impersonating a government official. Trespassing on council property."  
"Seriously?"  
"Seriously."  
"Fine, I'll tell you who I am." She walked over to him, a slight threat in her words as she spoke, "I am the one chance you've got of staying alive. That's who I am."

"Nicely done," Star clapped. That is exactly what she would have said, though she would have gotten her dagger out to show how serious she was.  
"Risby," Clara turned to the man, "how well do you know this area? Do you know where that door leads?" she nodded to the door of to the side.  
"It's the old Brunswick line." He nodded, "But it's not safe."  
"Well, there's safe and there's safe." A man, Al, reasoned.  
"Yeah, I know it. I used to go down there all the time."  
"Yeah, I'll bet you did." The older man scoffed, "Painting your filth."

"If I was there, he'd be dead by now," Star muttered, that man was very irritating.  
"Yeah, well, you might be glad he did." Clara turned to the man, "Those things come in here, that is our only way out. I just hope I can keep them all alive." She added to the Time Lords.

"Ah, welcome to my world. So what's next, Doctor Clara?" the Doctor asked Clara.

"Lie to them."  
"What?"  
"Lie to them. Give them hope. Tell them they're all going to be fine. Isn't that what you would do?"

"In a manner of speaking." The Doctor stuttered, "It's true that people with hope tend to run faster, whereas people who think they're doomed…"

"Dawdle. End up dead."

"So that's what I sound like." He murmured, it seemed they were both wearing of on Clara. The Doctor was making her lie more while Star was making her threaten people.

"Who's she talking to?" the older man asked Al.

"He says it's MI5." Al replied.

"Right, here's something that might help you." the Doctor remarked, "Do you remember the graffiti from the estate? Footprints, tyre treads?"

"Vaguely." Clara nodded, recalling what she saw earlier.  
"Well, I don't think it was graffiti. I think that that is how those creatures saw us. The impressions we make in two dimensional space. That was them reaching out, attempting to talk. At which point they moved into flattening and dissection. Trying to understand. Trying to emulate. But here's the big question. Do they know they're hurting us?"  
"So what? You think this is all one big misunderstanding?"  
"That is a possibility," Star agreed, as unlikely as she thought of it, how likely was it that creatures would kill be a misunderstanding? "Why don't we ask them?" they wouldn't know unless they asked.

George walked off to keep watch as Risby helped Clara sonic the speakers.  
"We need to find a way to communicate." The Doctor said.  
"Why can't the TARDIS just translate?" Clara asked, the TARDIS could translate anything other than Gallifreyan and Judoon, so they told her.

"Because their idea of language is just as bizarre as their idea of space. Even the TARDIS is confused."  
"This is a bad idea." The older man grumbled, "What makes these colleagues of yours think those monsters even want to talk?"

"I know a race made of sentient gas who throw fireballs as a friendly wave." The Doctor commented as he rummaged through a box, "I know another race with 64 stomachs who talk to each other by disembowelling."

"It's a possibility they don't mean any harm," Star simplified.  
"They've got a hunch." Clara supplied.  
"My point being that in a universe as immense and bizarre as this one, you cannot be too quick to judge." The Doctor continued, "Perhaps these creatures don't even understand that we need 3 dimensions to live in. They may not even know that they're hurting us."

"Do you really believe that?" Clara asked.  
"No." he sighed, "I really hope that. It would make a nice change, wouldn't it? Okay. Let's start with pi. Even in a flat world they would have circles. I don't mean edible pie, I mean circular pi. Which I realise would also mean edible pie but anyway." He typed away on the console when they heard a noise from the speakers. "They're responding. The TARDIS is translating now."

"It's a number." Star told them, "…55."  
"55?" Clara frowned, "What does that mean?"

"10th Fibonacci number." The Doctor suggested, "Atomic number of caesium."

"I know what it means. We all have numbers on our jackets." Risby explained, "Have to sign them out. That was the number on Stan's jacket, the man they flattened in the subway."

"They're gloating." The older man realised.

"We don't know that." The Doctor shook his head.

"But it is more than likely." Star added.

"Star!"

"Well it is the truth!" she defended. Honestly, he complains when she lies, and he complains when she tells the truth, she just can't win with him.

"It could be an apology, for all we know?" Clara tried to reason with the others.  
"Really? That's nice of them." Al remarked, clearly not believing her.  
"An apology?" the older man sneered, "Are you seriously…" he was cut off by more of the weird noise from the speakers.  
"Shush, shush, shush." Clara silenced him, "Listen. Wait."  
"2 2. 22." The Doctor translated.  
"22."  
"That's George." Risby breathed.  
"Looks like your number's up, George." The old man turned to George as he stood down the row away from the group, "Now they're threatening."  
"Maybe. Or maybe they're showing us they can read." Clara tried to defend.  
"Oh, grow up. They're picking targets."  
"Of course you'd see it that way." Risby glared at him, defending Clara.  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"George?" Clara eyed the man as he stood still, too still.  
"Everyone's out to get you, aren't they?" Risby continued arguing with the older man.  
"In this case, they kind of are." He agreed.

"Clara, be careful." The Doctor warned, watching as the woman approached George, seeing him as a 2 dimensional creature, as he dissolved into the floor and wall.

"The tunnel!" Clara shouted as they all turned and ran down the tunnel. "Doctor, they've got George."  
"We did see." Star reminded her, watching as the Doctor ran down the stairs.  
"What now?"  
"Give me a minute." The Doctor answered, sitting below the console at a desk, working on a device. "I'm working on it."  
Star continued watching on the monitor as the group stood at a steel door.

"Another flat handle." Clara moaned, "They were here. Not now. They've stopped chasing us, I think. It feels like they're cornering us."

"You can't apply human logic." Star commented, "You're dealing with creatures from another dimension."

"That's three exits all blocked by those creatures." Al pointed out.  
"Risby, where's the next exit?" Clara turned to him, he seemed to know the tunnel the best out of them all.  
"The only other one I can think of is where the old line joins the new, but it's a fair walk. Getting through that door would be quicker."  
"But we can't, can we?" the older man cut in.  
"I'm just saying."  
"Clara, I might be able to help with that door." The Doctor called. "Give me five minutes."  
"What are you doing?" Star frowned.

"You'll see."

The humans walked further down the tunnel, stopping when they found some graffiti on the wall.

"It's one of mine." Risby smiled, proud, "Do you like it?" he asked Clara.  
"Yeah, not bad." She nodded, "So this thing you're working on?" she spoke to the Doctor.  
"I think I've figured out a way to restore three dimensions. At least on a small scale, say door handles."  
"So, what's that, then? A de-flattener?

"We're not calling it a de-flattener." He handed her the finished device, similar to an old calculator with a ball on the top. "This should be able to restore dimensions."

"Should?" Star leaned on the console, eyebrow raised.

"It will work!" he turned to her before turning back to Clara, "You see what I've called it?"  
"2 D is." Clara read, "2 Dee Iz?"

"No. 2dis. It's called the 2dis," he sighed, turning to Star, "Why'd I even bother?"

"Give it a go." Star urged, "I want to see if it works."

Clara aimed it at the flattened door handle, a green ray of light pulsed out to the handle, when it smoked and blew.

"Long way round it is." Clara groaned, putting the 2dis in her bag, Star taking it and eying it.

"Clara, I don't know how, but they're doing it again." the Doctor called, as the TARDIS jolted, "They're leeching the TARDIS!"  
"How? Your doors are closed."  
"They've changed frequency. This time it's different."  
"Listen!" Clara hissed. "The Doctor and Star think we might be in trouble. They think they might be close."  
"Where, exactly?" the older man asked, not believe her, not believing that they could know if they were close or not.  
"I don't know. They're not sure. They're getting readings all around."  
"Oh, that's just great. Sounds important but means absolutely nothing. Can you tell your friend…" he was cut of by Al's screaming as a hand lifted him in the air, pulling him back down the tunnel.  
"Of course." The Doctor murmured, "The next stage. 3D."

Lumps appeared on the floor of the tunnel, slowly rising to become the images of the missing people.

"Run!" Risby yelled.  
"Doctor? The door. The handle's flattened." Clara reminded them.  
Star handed her the 2dis again, "I've boosted the output."  
"And it will work this time?"

"I fixed it, this time."

That was all Clara needed, she aimed the 2dis at the handle, the green pulse aimed at the door, the handle becoming 3D again; they ran through, Risby locking it again.

"Clara, stop. Use it again. It can reverse the process."  
"There's a ladder at the end of this." Risby informed them, "If we get down into the tunnel, we can make it into daylight."  
"Hang on! Hang on" Clara aimed the 2dis at the door, the handle flattening again.  
"If it's flat, we're safe now, aren't we?" the older man reasoned.  
"They can't get through, can they?" Risby asked.  
"Wait." Clara stayed where she was, watching the door, only for the handle to become 3D again.

"2DIS!" Star laughed, "I just got it!"

"At least someone laughed." The Doctor muttered as they watched the humans run off down the tunnel.

"That's terrible."  
"They have a new ability." The Doctor muttered, "Of course they have. Now they're 3D, they can restore dimensions."  
"Clara, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Star called to her.  
"We're in the bad news!" she yelled as the group ran, "I'm living the bad news!  
"The good news is I've come up with a theoretical way to send them back to their own dimension." The Doctor remarked.

"Do it! Now!"  
"And that's the bad news." Star sighed, "The TARDIS doesn't have enough dimensional energy to pull it off."  
"Great. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Apparently these things can pump it out as fast as they can steal it."

"Maybe if I ask them really nicely, they'll fill you up again. Hey!" the older man pulled the TARDIS out of Clara bag.  
"Give me that machine!" he shouted, trying to get the 2dis "Hand it over!"  
The men fought for the 2dis, when the TARDIS jolted, the monitor going to static before going black as the room jolted and the alarms blared, the power gone completely, the lights dimming.  
"Doctor?" Clara called moments later though the static, "Star, I dropped you down a hole. Where are you?"  
"Don't know." The Doctor replied, "The shields have gone. Structural integrity is failing. Another blow like that and we've had it."  
Star peered out of the doors, "We're on the train lines." There was light and a horn from the distance, "And there's a train coming." She groaned, "Of course there is."

"Short-term re-materialisation?" the Doctor tried to think of ways to get out, "Not enough power. Teleport? Not enough power. Re-route the heart of the TARDIS through, not enough power! Not enough power!"  
"Can't you move the TARDIS?" Clara asked, "Star can't you teleport yourself out?"

"I cant teleport in and out of the TARDIS!" she snapped, she had said that time and time again, if she had to repeat herself once more…  
"Clara, there is no power." The Doctor informed her, "The TARDIS couldn't boil an egg at the moment. Listen, do what you can to get those people out of there. You're stronger than you know."  
"I wonder what they're like with ladders?" they could hear Risby wonder.  
"No, I mean you move the TARDIS," Clara continued, "Like Addams Family."

"Like the hand thing?" Star frowned, following her idea. "That could work."

The Doctor ran to the doors, sticking his hand out, turning the TARDIS upright, dragging them along the tracks to the side, out of the way of the train.

"Clara you are brilliant!" Star laughed.  
"Ha!" the Doctor cheered, closing the doors, hugging Star and spinning her around, making her giggle.

Only for the vibration of the train to knock the TARDIS over, in the way of the train. They didn't have enough time to retry.

"damn…" the Doctor could only mutter as he dove under the console, forcing Star with him, the girl pulling a lever as they went, the lever to put the TARDIS in siege mode, it would protect them from the train.

~.~

Star jumped up moments later, running around the console, pulling lever and pressing buttons, nothing working. "No power!" she shouted, "cant turn siege mode back off." They had nothing, couldn't see or hear Clara now, they just had to hope she would be able to stop the creatures now.

She gave a frustrated scream, running under the console, to find something, running back up, carrying a handful of blankets, "this was all I could find," they would help keep them warmer for longer.

"It's better than nothing," the Doctor one around himself, leaving her with the rest, more than him, rubbing his arms on her, giving her some of his warmth.

The only air and heat in the room was all they had left…and it wasn't much.

The Doctor turned up his coat collar, rubbing his hands together as the heating dropped, "I don't know if you can still hear me out there," the Doctor called, whether Clara could hear or not, it didn't matter, it just helped to speak, just in case she could still hear them, "but the TARDIS is now in siege mode. No way in, no way out. Star managed to turn it on just before the train hit. But there's not enough power left now to turn it off."

"so we wait for Clara," Star lifted her chin up, "now help me find something that works!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow as she ordered him around but didn't say anything as he joined her at the other side of the console. Just trying any and all levers and buttons, something had to still be working.

"Yes!" Star cheered, managing to get the scanner back on…only to frown seeing Clara and the humans, in a small abandoned office, an extra man with them now. "What are you doing?"

The woman grabbed a spray can, shaking it, pulling out a large sheet of paper, laying on the table, grinning.

"No, don't do that!" she hit the monitor as the screen when to static.

"Star, calm down," the Doctor put an arm around her, calming her down.

"No, no, no, no, no! I will not calm down! I put the TARDIS is siege mode, and now were running out of air and…"

"Take a deep breath and calm down. Breathe."

She looked at him as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, gesturing her to do the same.

"I'm calm," she defended, "Im calm."

at least he didn't say 'conceal, don't feel'

~.~

"Life support failing." The Doctor breathed as he stood on the upper lever, moving around the room to keep warm. "I don't know if you'll ever hear this, Clara. We don't even know if you're still alive out there. But you were good! The best of the best. And you made a mighty fine Doctor."

"Dad," Star looked at him.

"yeah?"

"shut up, and anything you have to say…wait and tell Clara herself."

He sucked in a breath at that. She was so optimistic that she still had hope that Clara would get them out of this. But it was impossible, they had no power left inside. But Clara was the impossible girl.

Suddenly the TARDIS jolted and shook, the power slowly restoring. The Doctor ran down to the console, both Time Lords quickly typing away as the power was restored and the exterior grew back to normal size.

Clever Clara.

Star pulled a lever and they landed, turning the shield back on, pushing the creatures away.

"We tried to talk." The Doctor called on the monitor, speaking to the creatures and humans outside, "I want you to remember that. We tried to reach out, we tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly. And I think you just don't care. And I don't know whether you are here to invade, infiltrate or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play. So it seems I must play mine."

They stepped out of the TARDIS, "we're the ones who stop you," Star grinned, "We're sending you back to your own dimension. If you're lucky some of you may survive the trip. And, if you do, remember this. You are not welcome here. This plane is protected. I am the Doctor and Star is my daughter." He turned, catching the sonic as Clara threw it at him as she and the humans stood to the side. "And I name you The Boneless." He threw his arm out, activating the sonic and sending the Boneless back to the universe, not caring if any survived or not. No one harmed his family. EVER.

~.~

The TARDIS materialised at the waste land from earlier. The Doctor, Star, Clara, the train driver, the older man and Risby stepped out.  
"Hi, Mum. It's me." Risby greeted on his phone.  
"You all right?" Clara chuckled as the train driver dropped to his knees, kissing the ground.  
"I'm alive, and I've been inside that." He nodded to the TARDIS, "I think I'm up on the deal. Come here." He pulled her into a hug as Risby walked off to speak to his mum, the older man busy retying his laces. "Thank you." he turned to the older man, "You look chipper." He walked off.  
"Do people still say chipper?" Clara wondered.  
"Apparently." The Doctor answered, "Are you okay?"  
"I'm alive."

"Good," Star smiled at her.  
"And a lot of people died." The Doctor added.  
"It's like a forest fire, though, isn't it?" the older man countered, "The objective is to save the great trees, not the brushwood. Am I right?"  
"It wasn't a fire, those weren't trees, those were people."  
"They were Community Payback scumbags, I wouldn't lose any sleep."  
"I bet you wouldn't." the Doctor murmured. Even he lost sleep from people he didn't know, but he had taken their lifes and was guilty of their deaths.

'_Permission?'_ Star asked, reaching into her boot.

'_Not granted.'_ The Doctor shook his head, holding both her hands,

She pouted but straightened, settling for a glare instead.  
"It's good to be alive though. Thank you. Seriously, thank you." he turned and walked off.  
"Maybe the wrong people survived." Star glared after the man. If the Doctor wasn't holding both her hands she would throw her dagger after him.  
"Yeah, but we saved the world, right?" Clara nudged her.  
"Well…I'd say more you did."  
She beamed, "I was the Doctor today. And, apparently, I was quite good at it." she grinned at that, he had admitted she was a good Doctor.  
"You heard that, did you?" he muttered.  
"Yeah, but the power was going off so I suppose you were delirious. You didn't know what you were saying."  
"That'd be it," Star nodded with a laugh.  
Risby finished his call and walked back over to the trio.

"Ah! The return of the fluorescent pudding brain." The Doctor remarked.

"You do realise he can hear you now?" Clara asked.  
"I know. Your last painting was so good it saved the world. I can't wait to see what you do next."  
Risby chuckled at that, "It's not going to be easy. I've got a hair band to live up to. Thanks." Clara pulled him into a hug before he left as well, giving a small wave of goodbye.  
"Admit it. I did well." Clara looked down as her phone rang.  
"Is that Danny?" Star asked.  
"Just say it." Clara declined the call, "I know you want to."  
"I think you were a pretty good Doctor, Clara." Star smiled.

"Thank you, Star." she gave the Doctor a look, making him know she was only thanking Star.

The Doctor just rolled his eyes and entered the TARDIS.

Clara made to follow but stopped see Star frowned into the distance, "what's wrong?"

"Do you ever feel like your being watched?" she asked quietly, as though someone was listening.

"No…well, today, because you were watching me." She chuckled lightly.

"Ah, what's makes you think im not always watching you." Star laughed.

"Star, don't ever change."

"Promise," she crossed her hearts, skipping into the TARDIS, Clara following, casting a small glance at where Star had been staring at.

Nothing was there.

She shook her head, Star was completely random.


	10. The forest in the niht

Star pulled a lever landing the TARDIS in Trafalgar square when there was a knock on the door.

The Doctor glanced at Star, "did you tell Clara we were coming?" she was the only person who would knock, but she wouldn't even knock, she would just barge in and they were due to go and get her, not for her to come and get them. they were just planning on going to collect their drinks before meeting the woman at Coal Hill.

"No..." she opened the doors, looking down to see a young brunette girl there, "hello."  
"I'm lost." The girl looked up at her. "Please, can you help me?"  
The Doctor appeared behind Star, "It's that way." He pointed and shut the door on the girl.  
"Wait a minute," Star reopened the door, "Are those trees?"  
"I need the Doctor." The girl said, "Are you the Doctor?"  
"Yes." The Doctor nodded, "Do you have an appointment? You need an appointment to see the Doctor."  
"Please. Something's chasing me."

"Come on then," Star led her in, the girl gasping at the sight.

"When you drink a glass of Coke," the Doctor explained to her, "it's only this big, but it's actually got this much sugar in it. It works a bit like that."  
"What does?" the girl frowned.  
"The TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than the outside, or did you not notice?" he led them up to the upper gallery, taking out a map of London.  
"I just thought it was supposed to be bigger on the inside, so I didn't say anything."  
"Well, of course it's supposed to be bigger. Most people are confused by that."  
"I find everything confusing, nearly. So, I don't say anything. That's how come I'm in the woods. I thought Miss Oswald told me to find the Doctor. But it wasn't her. It was just in my head."  
"Miss Oswald?" Star turned to her, "Brown hair? Highly unpredictable? Round face? Quite small?"  
"Everyone says she's in love with Mr Pink."  
Star grimaced at the name, "I hate that man."

"The PE teacher?" the Doctor frowned.  
"Maths," the girl corrected, "I really like him. I was in his group."  
"Mr Pink was looking after you and you got lost, he didn't do a very good job did he?" Star smirked, what teacher looses a child. Oh, she'd have fun about this.  
The Doctor tossed the map away, and looked at the girl, "It doesn't surprise you that we know all about your school?"  
The girl shrugged, "Everyone seems to know everything about everything, apart from me."  
"That's not quite true. I, for instance, have no idea why, when the terrestrial navigation…"

Star pulled the girls hand away as she reached for a button, "don't touch," she chastised.

"The terrestrial navigation starts up," the Doctor continued, "It closes down all the other systems."  
"You should ask somebody who knows." The girl suggested.  
"Yeah, well we can't," Star grumbled, "last of our species, no one else, and even if we weren't we're too stubborn to ask for help."

The Doctor set the TARDIS is motion again, they were supposed to be in Trafalgar square, not a forest.

"You have reached your destination." The navigation announced.  
"No, we haven't." the Doctor argued, "We're supposed to be in the middle of London."  
"You have reached your destination." It repeated.

"Stop saying that!" Star hit the console, only to get a shock, "Ok, I deserved that."  
"She's only saying it because it's true." The girl remarked, "We are in the middle of London."  
"We are in the middle of a forest." The Doctor countered.  
"Come and see." She took the Doctors hand in one and Stars in the other, leading them outside. "Nelson's Column. Do you like it?"  
"Do I. Sorry, what?"  
"Do you like the forest being in Trafalgar Square? I think it's lovely." The looked up to see the whole of London covered with ivy and branches and trees.  
~

They went back inside the TARDIS, trying to figure out why trees were covering the city, when Clara phoned them, "You're always showing me amazing things." Was Clara's way of greeting, "Well, I, Doctor, have finally got something amazing to show you.  
"Yes, well, there are some things I've never seen, but that's usually because I've chosen not to see them." He replied, "Even my incredibly long life is too short for Les Miserables."  
"Oh, you're going to love this."

"Well, come and collect this child and you can tell us this 'amazing' thing yourself." Star called.  
"Huh? What child?" she asked.

"Small young girl. Your boyfriend, Mr Pink was supposed to be looking after her. I bet he doesn't even realise she's missing."  
"What her name?"

"I dunno." She shrugged, "Im not a mind reader."

"Star…"

"Oh wait, yes I am."

"You." the Doctor pointed at the kid, "Have you got a name at all?"

"Maebh." she told them, "My name's Maebh."

"Lovely name," Star winked at her.  
"What? Maebh?" Clara called. "Where are you?"  
"Trafalgar square." The Doctor answered, "We found her wandering around the brand new forest."  
"Brand new forest?"  
"Yes. It's like the New Forest, except even newer."

"Is that the forest that's covering London?"  
"Was that the amazing thing you were going to show us?" Star mocked, "We saw it first!"  
"Look, is she all right? Will you bring her over?"  
"No, I can't bring her over." The Doctor said, "I'm a Time Lord, not a childminder."  
"You're a dad; you can deal with a kid."

"Im not a child!" Star huffed.

"Oh, course you're not," they could practically hear her rolling her eyes, "You've got a spaceship. All we've got are Oyster cards."  
"And we've got a global rapid afforestation crisis to deal with." The Doctor countered.

~.~

The Doctor stood on the lion's plinth, scanning the tress as Maebh watched a broadcast on her phone. Clara had eventually agreed to come and meet them with the rest of the children from the group, along with Mr Pink. Star had complained about that little detail.

"Good luck, scanning those trees," Star called, leaning on the lion, "they are wood, remember."  
"Why would there be no reading?" the Doctor frowned at the sonic, "Because they are actually made of wood. No circuits. No mechanism. Wood."

"Still no setting for wood then?"

"Shut up," he whined, jumping down to the ground.  
"What's this for?" Maebh looked at the sonic in his hand.  
"This is a sonic screwdriver. It interacts with any form of communication you care to mention. Sadly, trees have no moving parts and don't communicate."  
"They communicate a bit, though."  
"What?"  
"Otherwise they wouldn't all grow at the same time, would they."  
"So, what, do you think that's how spring begins? With a group message on Tree Facebook? Do you think they send texts to each other?"  
"You don't need a phone to communicate, do you? I haven't phoned home, and I know my mum is worried about me."

~.~

"Trafalgar Square." Danny led the group of school kids and Clara to the area outside the TARDIS as Star stood by the monitor in the console room, watching as the group arrive, the Doctor wondering around the area, thinking abut why the tress have appeared, "Well done, Bradley. Excellent navigation skills."  
"Ah ha!" Clara cheered seeing the TARDIS, "There it is. All sorted now. Come on."  
"Can we take a picture with the lion, sir?" one of the boys asked, "Please?"  
"Er, stay together, but ok." Danny nodded. The kids all grinned and huddled together, taking pictures.  
"I cannot believe Bradley just said please." Clara gaped at the boy.  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. He usually prefers other means of persuasion. And Ruby. You bring out the best in them"

"Don't say anything!" Clara pointed warningly as Star stepped out of the TARDIS, mouth open to talk.

Star slapped her mouth shut, pouting. It was scary at how well both Clara and the Doctor knew exactly what she would say.  
"Ow!" the girl with braids, Ruby, cried as she held up a piece of broken branch, "Look, sir. No rings. Trees usually have rings to tell you how old they are. This one's got no rings. Why's that then, sir?"  
"The rings mark the years of growth." The Doctor walked over, "One ring for each year. This grew up overnight. That whole tree is the result of just one night's growth, and they're still growing."  
"Everyone, this is the Doctor and his daughter Star," Clara introduced, "and they're going to sort everything out. Isn't that right? It's what they do."  
"Well, having looked at things, I think, probably, the answer to that is no."  
"He always says that. He's really clever."  
"Oh, yes, I am. Very clever. But what use is clever against trees? They don't listen to reason. You can't plead with them. You can't lie to them. They have no moving parts, no circuits. This is a natural event."

"How can it be natural for a tree to grow in one night?" Danny scoffed.  
"Exactly what they said about the Ice Age." He countered, "How can whole glaciers just pop up out of nowhere? Well, they just did. That's how this planet grows, a series of catastrophes. Farewell to the Ice Age. Welcome to the Tree Age. Possibly. When the Ice Age was here, you lot managed to cook mammoth. Now there's a forest, you'll just have to eat nuts."  
"I can't eat nuts. I've got an allergy." Bradley called.  
"Don't worry. It's a thing he does." Clara assured the kids, "He pretends he's not interested and then he has an idea. He's playing for time."  
"Time. Interesting." The Doctor murmured.  
"See? Clever kicking in."  
"A tree is a time machine. You plant a little acorn in 1795, and in the year 2016, there's an oak tree, there, in the same spot, with a tiny little bit of 1795 still alive inside of it. You can't create an overnight forest with extra special fertiliser. You have to mess with the fabric of time. And communicate with trees." He ran into the TARDIS, the others all following.  
"So you're saying it's an act of aggression?" Clara asked.  
"By trees?"  
"Er, trees clean the air." Ruby called  
"Exactly." Clara agreed, "Well done, Ruby. Someone or something who's trying to scrub the atmosphere before colonising or invading. Ah, yes. Ahem. This is Coal Hill Year Eight Gifted and Talented Group."  
"What are the round bits for?" a young black boy asked, looking around the room.  
"Ask your teacher. Come on! Down from there! Hey! Away from the console. Come on." The children ran to the console, pressing random button.

"Hey! Don't touch! Clara!" Star turned to her, "control your kids."  
"Haven't any of you been struck by the fact that it's, look, it's bigger on the inside?" the Doctor shook his head at the kids.  
"There wasn't a forest. Then there was a forest. Nothing surprises us any more." Ruby reasoned.  
"These trees all appeared at once. That wasn't a coincidence. There's no such thing as an arboreal coincidence. Something, someone has coordinated this. To coordinate, you need to communicate. Every communication channel on the TARDIS is open, and nothing."

Danny picked up a school book form a pile, looking on a page of a drawing on a sun sending light rays to the tree tops.  
"Let me see that." Star grabbed the book from the man.  
"Homework books. Why are these here?" Danny demanded, they didn't belong here, they belonged to the children at the school.  
"Maebh Arden." Star read the name. "Where's Maebh?" she scanned the kids, not recognising the small brunette, she turned to Danny, "you're doing a good job looking after all these kids."  
"Oh, my God." Ruby gasped, "Maebh's gone. Maebh's lost in the forest. Maebh's going to die!"  
"Ruby, that's enough!" Clara cried, "Doctor?"  
"We've got to find her!" the Doctor deadpanned.

"Yes, I know that we have to find her." Clara agreed, "Doctor, listen to me. Her sister went missing last year. She's on medication. The child is barely functioning. She hears voices. She's very vulnerable."  
"What do the voices say?" Star asked, she knew how it felt to hear things when no one else did and no one believed you.  
"I don't know. She takes tablets and they stop."

Star's mouth fell open at that.  
"You people." The Doctor shook his head, "You never learn. If a child is speaking, listen to it." he learnt that, when Star said she had heard someone talking to her and grabbing her leg, he should have listened to her.  
"Oh, like you listened to her?" Danny rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you should have kept a closer eye on her," Star shot back.  
"He's right." The Doctor brought the scanner on to see a large solar flare heading to Earth. "She was trying to tell me something and I ignored her. Maebh Arden is tuned to a different channel. She can lead us to the source, to the heart of the forest. We have to listen to her. We have to find her."  
"Not everything can be fixed with a screwdriver." Clara pointed out, "It's not a magic wand."  
"Do you have her phone number?" Star asked Clara, recalling the girl had been watching a broadcast on her phone.  
"Er, yep." She pulled out her phone, handing it to the Doctor.  
He soniced it, showing where she was "Maebh Arden. 500 yards south east of here. Star and I'll go get her."  
"I'll go with you," Danny offered.

Star casually leaned on the console, looking at Danny, "you do know if you come with us, Clara will have to stay with the kids and you'll be alone with us. And I will kill you because Clara won't be there to stop me."  
"I'll go," Clara volunteered, "you can..."  
"You haven't seen them for months?" Danny guessed.  
"Something like that."  
"You didn't even say hello. You just sprung straight into action. Special unit."  
"This is so cool." Ruby grinned.

"Don't touch!" Star stopped Ruby from pressing a button, "that would blow the universe up."  
"See?" Clara offered a smile, "Someone needs to go. Child protection."

~.~

The Doctor, Star and Clara walked through the tree invested streets, leaving Danny and the kids in the TARDIS alone. Good luck to the TARDIS.

"Gifted and talented?" Star turned to Clara.  
"Furious, fearful, tongue-tied." She replied, "They're all superpowers if you use them properly. Are they going to be all right?"

The nearby traffic lights turned off, the trees disrupting the electricity, "They're in the TARDIS, the safest place on the planet."

There was a rumble and they looked up to see the statue of Horatio falling towards them, they threw themselves out the way, the statue barely missing them as it smashed to the ground.  
"If this is an invasion," Star began, looking back at the fallen statue, "then we're screwed. They're here, they've won."  
"What do they want?" the Doctor wondered, growing more confused by the minute.

Clara glanced back, as they walked on, "Doctor, Star? Look behind us. The path we just walked down. It's overgrown already."  
Star picked up a pink phone from the ground, "is this Maebh's?"  
"Yeah. Why would she put her phone down?"  
"Doesn't want to be followed?" the Doctor suggested, "Lost a hold of it in a struggle? Left it as a clue, so we would know where she was going? Trail of breadcrumbs. Hansel and Gretel."  
"I'm actually frightened." Clara admitted, "I never get frightened. Why am I frightened?"  
"You just lost a little girl."  
"Yes, that is a worry, but I know you'll find her. No, no, no. This is not a worry, this is a dread. Maebh!"  
"You're pursuing a little lost girl through a mysterious forest. The path has disappeared. You find yourself with a strangely compelling masculine figure. Maebh!"  
"Any minute now we're going to find a gingerbread cottage with a cannibal witch inside. Maebh!"  
"Exactly. The forest. It's in all the stories that kept you awake at night. The forest is mankind's nightmare."

"I love it!" Star grinned.

"I don't understand you half the time," Clara shook her head at her. Sometimes, like on the Orient Express, well sort of, Star was easy to get on with, she was nice and a friend but other times, Star scared her with her threats and the things she said.

"Clara," Star picked up a pink pencil case, "is this hers?"  
"Yes." Clara nodded taking and putting it in her bag, "Clever girl." She walked on, pushing a branch away to be greeted by men in hazmat suits.  
"Get back!" one warned, "We're burning here. Stay back."

"We're looking for a little girl."  
"Stay back. We're about to burn." The men aimed a flame thrower on a tree. "Good job!" the flamers faded away, "What's going on? Trees aren't responding to flame-thrower. I mean, they don't catch fire. They just don't catch. It's like they're flame proof or something."  
The Doctor, Star and Clara walked off, needing to find Maebh, "Trees control the oxygen on this planet." The Doctor explained, "They withhold it, they smother the fire. What sort of forest is clever? What sort of forest has its own in-built fire extinguisher?"  
"What do they want?" Clara frowned.  
"Why now?" Star shook her head.  
"What do you mean, why now?"  
"The whole natural order is turning against this planet. But why now?"  
"Well, what else?"

The Doctor pulled out Maebh's homework book that Star showed him early, showing Clara the drawing, "How did she know this?"  
"What is it?"

"This is a massive solar flare headed for Earth, like the one that destroyed the Bank of Karabraxos. I've got an entire TARDIS and I didn't notice this. But she knew. How?"  
"This is Maebh's." Clara read the name on the front, "Where did you get this?"  
"You left the books in the TARDIS when you were marking them," Star replied.  
"Oh, great," Clara groaned, "right, well, that's just brilliant, isn't it. You don't think Danny saw this, do you?"

"Yes he did."

"Oh great."

"You tell me to stab him and he's stabbed. For you."

"You're not stabbing my boyfriend!" Clara cried.

She had no idea why the Time Lords didn't like him, the Doctor was a least civil, of course he insulted him (he insulted most people) but Star wasn't afraid to show that she hated the man with passion. She was actually growing concerned for Stars sanity, it was getting worse as the months past and she dreaded to think if they girl turned out even worse.  
"I've just informed you that a solar flare is going to wipe out your planet." The Doctor rolled his eyes at Clara, "You're worried about a row with your boyfriend. How did she know this? She even put the date on it!"  
"I always make them date their homework."  
"It's today's date."  
"Well, there must be a way?"  
"They want something. They're saying something. If there is a way, the way is Maebh Arden."  
"Okay, you know they're not really gifted and talented, don't you? I just tell them that to make them feel good."  
"She's lost someone." Star murmured, "People who've lost someone, they're always listening, always looking, always hoping. So, they notice more. They hear more."  
A wolf howled in the distance, "Was that a howl?" another replied to the first. "Was that a wolf? No. That is impossible. We're in London."

"London has a zoo," Star countered, "a zoo with wolves."

"The trees have probably broken the gates." The Doctor added, "The animals can get out. Stick to the path, little red riding hood."  
Clara looked around at the tress and branches, "There is no path."  
"Then we're lunch." The Doctor stated as they heard a pack of wolves howling.  
There was a small scream in the distance, "Maebh?" Clara gasped, and they ran off, stopping as they reached an iron fence, Maebh on the other side, with the wolves.

"Maebh! Doctor, give me a boost so I can pull her over. Maebh? Maebh!"

Maebh ran through the gate, onto their side.  
"Maebh." The Doctor began, crouching down to her height, "You came looking for us. You didn't …" Maebh waved her hands around, as though trying to swat something away, "Maebh, Maebh; you didn't just stumble into the TARDIS. Tell me what you know."  
"Doctor…"  
"This is important."  
"Yes. Can we please deal with the wolves first?"  
"These are zoo wolves." Star waved off her concern, "They're not even used to hunting. They're scared puppy dogs."  
"Then why are they baring their teeth?" Clara asked.  
The Doctor looked up to see the wolves, ready to attack "Alright, ok. We've just got to look as if we're too much bother to eat, right? So, stay still. Stay together. Look big. Look big like a big three-headed, six-legged scary thing!" The wolves ran away, whining, "Ha ha! Told you they were rubbish. Those wolves are terrified."  
"What are wolves frightened of?"

"Well, at the moment I'd say that tiger," Star reasoned as a tiger appeared out of the trees, growling at them.

"There are very good solid scientific reasons for being really quite frightened just now." The Doctor breathed as they kept their eyes on the tiger.

Star slowly pulled out her dagger when a light shone on the tigers face, making it growl and run away.  
"Mr Pink!" Clara grinned as he and the children appeared, him having shone a torch in the tigers face, "Why, thank you very much."  
"Ah, no problem." He smiled "Just decided it was best not to leave you alone with them. They've worked well together. Noticeable increase in confidence and energy levels."  
Maebh waved her arms again, making the Time Lords eye her.  
"Well done. And for saving us from a tiger, too."

"I was about to handle it!" Star defended.

"You was about to kill it." Clara turned to her.

"Threaten it. It's a cat, threaten it and it'll run away."  
"Er, has she had her medication yet?" Danny cut in, seeing Maebh wave her arms around.  
"Oh. No, I…" Clara trailed.  
"No, no. Not her medication." The Doctor shook his head, "We don't want to shut her up. We want to know what she knows. Maebh, what's the…Maebh, what is this? What is this?" he mimicked her waving.  
"Apart from being almost savaged by a tiger and abducted by a Scotsman and his violent daughter, she's allowed any nervous tics she likes, okay?"  
"This is not a nervous tic. This is react…"  
"Please! Just give her her tablets" Ruby pleaded, "She's been in a state since her sister went missing." Maebh ran off again.  
"Hey!" Star called, running after her.  
"Maebh!" Danny shouted after her as he and the others quickly followed, "Maebh! Maebh!"  
"You won't find your sister out there." Ruby yelled.

Maebh ran to a clearing with the sun shining down, with Star right behind her, the others soon catching up.  
"Miss? What is it, miss?" Ruby asked.  
"It's coming." Maebh gasped, eyes wide, "It's coming for everyone, and I can't unthink it."  
"Maebh." Star knelt in front of her, "Maebh, this forest is communicating with you, and only you. No technology can hear what it's saying, but you can. Tell us what it wants. Where it came from. Do you know who did this? You can tell me," She looked in her eyes, "trust me."  
"It was me. I did this. I did these trees."

"That's silly. You couldn't make a forest appear around the world over night."  
"Thoughts come to me. Ever since Annabel went missing, I look for her everywhere. I don't find her, but I find thoughts. The big forest was one. I thought everyone would love it. The thoughts! The thoughts! They go so fast."  
"This is stressing me now." Bradley muttered, "When I get stressed, I forget my anger management."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Star agreed, "don't get me angry." And that was saying something because she was always angry, it was her little secret, keep herself always angry, she had more control of her anger.  
"Maebh," Clara eyed her, "can you see something that we can't see?"  
"Nearly. Too fast. Everywhere." Maebh waved her hands around.  
"Everything's subject to gravity." The Doctor remarked, "If I can create a little local increase..." he pulled out the sonic screwdriver.  
"No. You're not experimenting on…" Danny began to argue when golden lights appeared around Maebh head, showing from the sonic.  
"They're lovely!" Maebh smiled, no longer swatting them away, "They don't like it when you're holding them. They want you to let them go."  
"Who are they?"

"We are Here." Maebh stiffened as a voice spoke through her, "Here, always, since the beginning and until the end."  
"Here? That's it?"  
"We are the green shoots that grow between the cracks, the grass that grows over the mass graves. After your wars are over, we will still be Here. We are the life that prevails."  
"Why now?" Star demanded, "Why are you here now?"

"We hear the call and we come, as we came before to the great North Forest, where we lie still in a great circle. As we came to the vast Southern Forest."

"Who is calling you now?" the Doctor frowned.  
"The sun that creates. The sun that destroys. You are hurting us. Let us go."  
"You sent for us. The girl came looking for us. Why? Why us?"  
"We did not send." The voice stated, "Pain. Did not send for you. We don't know you. We were here before you and will be here after you." the Doctor turned the sonic off, the lights disappearing.  
"That was actually quite cool." A boy stared at Maebh as the girl fell to her knees, Danny and the Doctor catching her.  
"Maebh, you came looking for the Doctor." the Doctor said to her, "Think. Who sent you to us?"  
"It was just a thought." She murmured, "It was just a thought that came. I think it came from Miss. They've gone. Why does everything have to go?"  
"This really is going to happen, isn't it?" Clara asked the Doctor quietly.  
"Stars implode. Planets grow cold. Catastrophe is the metabolism of the universe. I can fight monsters. I can't fight physics." The Doctor shrugged.  
"Why would trees want to kill us? We love trees."  
"You say you love them, yet you've been chopping them down for furniture for centuries." Star argued, "If that's love, no wonder they're calling down fire from the heavens."  
"But we saw the future. Lots of futures. Earth's futures."  
"All erased."  
"If you can't save them all, save who you can. The TARDIS. It's a lifeboat, isn't it? Not everybody has to die."

~.~

The group walked back to the TARDIS, Star walking ahead, groaning as Danny and the kids sang as they walked. She had nothing against the kids singing, it was just the fact that Danny was leading them off, singing himself.  
As they approached the TARDIS, ivy had grown over it since they had left.

"Right, come on, team." Danny clapped his hands and they all pulled the greenery away.  
"When they're done, you need to get in your box and go." Clara turned to the Time Lords.  
"We're all going. We're taking the kids." The Doctor remarked.  
"Taking them where? What are you going do with them? Leave them on an asteroid? Find a space academy for the gifted and talented? They just want their mums and dads, and they're never going to stop wanting them."  
"We can save you and Danny."  
"Danny Pink will never leave those kids so long as he is breathing."  
"Come on, team." Danny smiled as they pulled away the last of the greenery.  
"Can we take another selfie, sir?" Bradley asked.  
"Of course. Come on, then."  
"Yes!" the kids cheered, taking a picture.  
"We can save you." Star looked at Clara.  
"I don't want you to." She shook her head.  
"Why not?"  
"I just…"  
"Tell us."

"Don't make me say it."  
"Say."

"I don't want to be the last of my kind." She said quickly and quietly.  
"Then why did you bring us all here?" the Doctor frowned.  
"Because it's the only way to get you back to the TARDIS, make you think you're saving someone. Well, you know what, Doctor, Star? This time, the human race is saving you." Clara unlocked the TARDIS doors. "Make it worthwhile, both of you."

"You said it yourself, we walk your earth, breathe your air." Star reminded her, from when they left her to make the hard decision of killing the moon.  
"It's our world too." The Doctor agreed.  
"And on behalf of this world, you're very welcome." Clara offered a small, sad smile, "Now, go. Save the next one."  
"Maebh!" the Doctor turned to her, "I'm sorry that we couldn't help you."  
"You helped me loads." Maebh smiled back at them, "I thought it was all my fault. I feel much better now. Are you going to get rid of the forest?"  
"Hard to get rid of a flame-proof forest, Maebh, eh? Come on." Clara led her back to the others taking a selfie.  
The Doctor went inside the TARDIS. With a final glance at Clara, Star followed.

~.~

The TARDIS floated around in space, above Earth. The Doctor at the scanner, watching the storm, both trying their hardest to find out why the trees have appeared, why now?

"Flame proof forest," Star mused as she slowly began to realised, sitting on the stairs "flame proof forest! Dad!" she jumped up and ran to the console, "we need to go back to Earth!"

"Why?" he frowned, still utterly confused as to why the forest just appeared.

"Think it through. Flame proof forest, a solar storm heading to Earth."

"Oh!" his eyes widened as he realised, "I am Doctor Idiot!" they quickly piloted back to Earth, Star stepping out the TARDIS, teleporting and reappearing in front of Clara.

"Clara!" she cheered.

Clara blinked at seeing her, "Star!"

"How did you do that?" Danny asked, she had just appeared out of no where.

"None of your business," she snapped at him, turning back to Clara, "you have to come back to the TARDIS, right now!"

"Why?" she asked, unsure if this was a way for Star to just get her of the planet.

"All of you now, I'll explain when we're there," she ran off, leaving them no choice but to follow.

The Doctor stood at the TARDIS door, ushering them all in, "Maebh, quick. Good girl. Come on."

~.~

The humans all sat on the stairs leading to the gallery as the Doctor stood at the console with Star, explaining to them.

"It's all there in the screen," the Doctor gestured to the scanner as the solar flare appears on it, "big solar flare heading this way. A thousand kilometres a second. Coronal mass ejection. Geomagnetic storm. It's huge. Brewing up a solar wind big enough to blow the whole planet away."

"Clara didn't tell you?" Star guessed at their blank faces.

"I thought it would spoil an otherwise enjoyable walk," Clara remarked dryly.

"Ok. Ok," the Doctor cut in, "well, this is the bad news. The good news is, it's happened before. And you're still here. The Tunguska Blast, 1908. That should have blown the whole planet off the axis, but it didn't. It knocked a few trees over. Well, a few 10s of thousands of trees over. Curuca in Brazil. Same story. Earth shops have been smashed, but it wasn't. What do these things have in common?"

"They're really, really scaring us?" Ruby offered.

"Trees." he corrected, "when ever there's a planet-threatening, extra terrestrial impact, trees. Massive forest, filling the atmosphere with oxygen. Impinge it up like a massive, highly flammable airbag, do that when trouble hits."

"Everyone dies." The nut allergy boy finished.

"No. The impact burns off the excess oxygen. You have some fairly hectic weather for a few days and some fairly trippy looking sunsets, but apart from that, you will be all right. I was wrong. The trees are not your enemy. They're your shield. They've been saving you since forever. Protecting you from everything that space can throw at you."

"The wide ring," Clara recalled, "the red ring. In the museum. Ruby saw a cross section of a tree. One of the rings was wider than the others and red."

"Atmosphere dust, captured by the trees," the Doctor nodded, "the fingerprint of an asteroid."

"Happy Red Ring Day." Star cheered as the Doctor snapped his fingers at her. that was a brilliant name for the day.

"I don't get it," Ruby frowned, "if they're good, then why are we chopping them down?"

"The Government are sending out defoliating teams," Danny added, "they're dropping chemicals on them right now."

"What is it with you people?" the Doctor wondered, "You hear voices you want to shut them up. The trees come to save you; you want to chop them down."

"Or you think you need to save the world when it's already saving itself," Clara pointed out.

"I admit that I was wrong." he typed away in the console, "excellent. Mobile networks are still operative. Right. We are going to call everyone in Earth and tell them to leave the tress alone."

"Can I do it?" Maebh spoke up, "I started it. I should finish it."

"Ok. Ok. Class project. Save the world."

~.~

The children sprawled out in the floor as Maebh wrote down the script in her homework book, the others offering suggestion as she wrote.

"Ok," Maebh stood up, "and I think that's it."

Star flicked a switch and all the mobile phones in the TARDIS and the planet rang all at once.

"Essential services have been disrupted due to an unexpected forest," Maebh spoke into the speaker on the console, "we'd like to reassure you that the situation will be rectified very soon. Please don't be scared. And please don't chop, spray or harm the trees. They're here to help. Be less scared. Be more trusting. Oh and Annabel Arden, please come home."

The Doctor ends the transmission, "ok, who would like to witness a once in a billion years solar event at close quarters?"

"Mum!" Maebh gasped, seeing a woman in the scanner, "that's my mum!"

~.~

Clara and Danny led the kids to Trafalgar Square where Maebh was reunited with her mother. Star and the Doctor stayed in the TARDIS waiting for them to come back so they could watch the solar flare from space, only for only Clara to come back. Danny had gone to take the kids back to their parents.

The trio stood at the doors of the TARDIS watching the flare from a safe distance.

"I hope we're right," Star remarked, "it would be horrible if the Earth was destroyed right now."

"What?" Clara looked at her sharply.

"Joking! Im joking. I hope." She added quietly.

The solar flare reached Earth atmosphere, igniting the oxygen.

"There goes the planets sized airbag," the Doctor said, "that the trees harvesting the solar fire."

~.~

The solar flare had passed, the Earth was still standing. The Doctor, Star and Clara stood in the woman's baloney, watching as the trees disappeared before their eyes.

"This is amazing," Clara breathed, "how will they explain this tomorrow?"

"You'll forget it all," Star shrugged.

"We are not going to forget an overnight forest."

"Yeah you will."

"You forgot last time," the Doctor reminded her, "you remembered the fear and you put t into fairy stories. It's a human superpower, forgetting. If you remembered how things felt, you'd have stopped having wars. And stopped having babies."

The trio looked out watching as the greenery disappeared in a golden light as far as their eyes could see.


	11. Dark water

The Doctor picked up the phone as it rang and headed back inside the TARDIS with Star behind him finishing off a banana flavoured cupcake. They had just gone to see River Song; a version who was still at Luna University who knew they knew who she was. It was the Doctors birthday so they celebrated as a family. The Doctor insisted he didn't want a fuss but after how many birthdays Star had missed because of Trenzalore she refused to say no so they just spend the day with River just talking really. It wasn't much but the Doctor appreciated it.

"Clara?" the Doctor called, "Clara!"

"Hey!" Clara replied, cheerily.

"Sorry we were busy, what's happening?"

"Same old, same old."

"What can we do for you Clara?"

"I just wanted to see my favourite cousin and uncle."

"We'll be right over," Star called distractively, she knew what today meant, understood what the woman wanted. She knew since Clara first met Danny what was going to happen to day. Fix point in time, even if she tried she couldn't change what happened to him.

The Doctor put the phone down and looked over at Star, he also noticed something wrong with Clara.

"Danny Pink is dead." Star stated, bringing up the page on the scanner, "he was hit by a car."

"Oh." the Doctor frowned, "how long have you known?" the way she spoke, it sounded like she had known before reading the article.

"I warned her. I said I didn't like him for a reason. She will to turn on us," She determined.

"What makes you say that?"

"She's upset and likely angry. I'd do the same."

"You should have said."

She scoffed, "would you have told her that the boy she loved would get hit by a car?"

Clara's parents met because her father almost got hit by a car but her mother shoved him out the way and for a car to be the reason she no longer had the man she loved…Clara would be very angry and extremely upset.

~.~

"Send her off!" Clara shouted as she ran straight into the TARDIS as they materialised in her flat. She gasped suddenly as she was pulled into a tight hug from Star, "what's this for?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What did you do? Did you use your get out a jail free card?"

"I mean about Danny."

And then the tears fell as she was unable to hold it back anymore as she sobbed into the girls shoulder, "he's really dead..."

"In sorry, I should have warned you!"

Clara sniffed and pulled away at that, glancing at a solemn Doctor by the console, confused, "how could you have warned me?"

Stars regretfully face gave it away. She had known and known for a while. Her confusion morphed into anger, no, hatred. How dare she! How dare she know when her boyfriend was going to die and keep quiet about it. She hadn't said anything, but merely hated Danny. If she thought that that would show that she knew how and when he died, she was way out of her league.

Star backed away from the pure hatred on Clara's face, and she knew she had just ruined their friendship, "I'm, sorry, I'm so, so sorry, Clara...but we're going to try and bring him back," she added hopefully, "yeah? Try and bring him back, for you."

"Almost every culture in the universe has some concept of an afterlife." The Doctor added, before Clara could say anything else and what would likely end in an argument, "I always meant to have a look around, see if I could find one."

"You…going to help get him back?" Clara whispered. Shocked, they both hated him. It seemed Star hated him because of him dying but the Doctor, his face, she could tell it was news to him. He was willing to find Danny in the afterlife, for her.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Because…because…I was going to betray you," she swallowed thickly, "I was going to betray you and force you to bring him back. Even though it would cause a paradox."

"Do you think we care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference? Stop it with the eyes." the Doctor looked at Clara as the woman looked back, tears in her wide eyes, "Don't do that with the eyes. How do you do that anyway? It's like they inflate. Cut out the whining while you're at it. We've got work to do. This is it, Clara, one of those moments."

"What moments?" she asked.

"The darkest day. The blackest hour. Chin up, shoulders back. Let's see what we're made of, the three of us. Switching off the safeguards, turning off the nav-com. Remember, we did this before. We plugged you into the TARDIS telepathic interface."

"We ended up all over Danny's time stream."

"Because, as much as I hate to say it," Star began, "you and him are linked. Strongly linked. Your time streams are intertwined. So if he's anywhere at all, that link will hold."

"Give me your hands." The Doctor took her hands, leading her to the telepathic section of the console. "We're in a hurry."

"I don't deserve family like you." she whispered.

"Clara," Star placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, "sorry, but we're exactly what you deserve."  
The Doctor placed her hand on the circuit, "Think about Danny. Think about the man you lost. Let it hurt. Let it burn. But don't bleat. Don't ask, why him? Why me? Forget all that. Ask one question. Just one. Ask, where is Danny Pink now? Where is he now?" after a few moments the TARDIS started up, "Well, the TARDIS thinks he's somewhere."

"Where are we?" Clara asked as they materialised somewhere.  
"Nav-com's offline. We'll have to do this old school."  
"But this is where Danny is?"  
"Almost certainly not. It's where there's a connection with Danny. According to the TARDIS, this is where it's most likely that your timeline will re-intersect with his. And that won't do."  
"What won't?"  
"You won't. Look at you. I need sceptical, clever, critical. I don't need mopey. It puts years on your face. And what if people see us together? It looks like you've been melted."  
"Are you forgetting why we're here?"  
"We're here to get your stupid boyfriend back from the dead," Star remarked, "so buck up and give us that Clara attitude I adore so much." She winked.

The TARDIS parked between two columns at the bottom of a set of steps.

They shone torches around as they stepped out into the dark room, on a wall the words 'Rest In Peace, We Promise' was carved into a granite statue. They look up at rows of glass fronted cubicles.  
"Fish tanks?" Clara frowned.  
"In a mausoleum?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows.

They walked up the steps, standing in front of a large vase on a dais, which has an eternal flame burning, the words 'Rest In Peace, We Promise' written on it aswell.  
"What does that mean?" Clara wondered.  
"It means those are definitely not fish tanks."  
They turned to go up the rest of the steps, walking down the corridor, along the rows of tanks all with skeletons inside.

"Why?" Clara asked with just the one word.  
"I don't know." The Doctor replied.  
"Okay, I'm assuming they didn't actually drown in there."  
"They were placed after death." Star assured her, "They're tombs. Water tombs, with some sort of fluid," she tilted her head, "…I think."  
"With chairs?"  
"With chairs. Comfy chairs! Extra comfort for the deceased. It pays to die rich, we had a friend, Dorium, he got beheaded, still alive as a head, he says he had excellent wifi."  
"Oh, God." Clara gasped as the horrible thought hit her, "Am I going to find Danny now? Is that why the TARDIS brought us here? I don't want to see him like that."  
"Good point." The Doctor nodded, "Tombs with windows. Who wants to watch their loved ones rot? Why would anyone go to so much trouble just to keep watch on the dead?"

They walked on down the corridors. The Doctor open a small book on a stand, a cube rose out of the blank page, opening in the space before them, displaying a logo, one large ring with a small one joint to it, 3W written inside.  
"3W." a voice spoke as the words strolled down in front of them, "Death is not an end. But we can we help with that. Ever since 3W encountered the truth about the death experience, 'we have been working hard to find a better life for the deceased. At 3W, afterlife means aftercare."  
"Ok." Clara frowned, "Bit strange?"  
"Very." The Doctor agreed, "Why have the scrolling and a voice?"

"Is it difficult to read backwards?" Star called seeing a woman peeking out in the shadows. "No point in hiding. I can clearly see you watching us."

A woman with dark hair stepped out, wearing a purple Edwardian outfit and fruit hat, her make up made her look like an evil Mary Poppins. "Hello. I hope you're well. How may I assist you with your death?"  
"Well, there is, er, no immediate hurry." The Doctor stepped away from the woman, "We're just, er. We're just…"  
"Browsing." Clara offered.  
"Yeah, yeah, browsing."  
"Please," the woman smiled, "take all the time you need. At 3W, you always have the rest of your life."  
"Oh, good. That's good to know, Clara, isn't it?"  
"Yeah. Great."  
"What is 3W?" Star asked, frowning at the woman.

"Apologies. Clearly you have not received the official 3W greetings package." The woman grinned.  
"Well, you know, it's just an unexpected…" the Doctor began but was cut of by the woman hugging him tightly.

The Doctor fidgeted uncomfortably, he only hugged Star and that was only because she did the best hugs in the universe and knew when she had gone too far with them. This woman was making him uncomfortable.

Know he knew how Star felt during her 4th regeneration when she didn't like physical contact. He had not helped her in the best way.

Thankfully the woman didn't keep him there for long before she pulled away and turned to Star, the woman tilted her head at her as though trying to figure out fi Star would attack her before hugging her as well.

Star tensed feeling the duel hearts beat the woman had. Everything made sense now. Whoever this woman was, she was a Time Lady, this is why she felt they were being watched, because they were, she had been watching them. Why else would she be so calm to see them there?

She shuffled her way out of the woman's grip, glaring at her, daring her to touch Clara.

The woman merely smiled, "Welcome to the 3W Institute."  
"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded.  
"I am Missy." She answered.  
"Missy?" Clara repeated.  
"Mobile Intelligent Systems Interface. I am a multi-function, interactive welcome-droid. Helping you to help me to help you."  
"You're very, er, realistic." The Doctor offered.

"I am fully programmed with social interaction norms appropriate to a range of visitors." Missy stated, "Please indicate if you'd like me to adjust my intimacy setting."

"Can you not have it on?" Star shifted in discomfort under the woman's gaze. She nodded.  
"I need to speak to whoever's in charge here." The Doctor continued.  
"I am in charge." Missy told them.  
"Well, who's in charge of you?"  
"I'm in charge of me."  
"Well, who repairs you? Who maintains you?"  
"I am programmed for self-repair. I am maintained by my heart." She took the Doctors hand, placing it on the centre her chest, "Is everything in order?"  
"Who maintains your heart?" Star tilted her head, curious.  
"My heart is maintained by the Doctor."  
"Doctor who?" the Doctor asked.  
"Doctor Chang!" she shouted, moving away from the Doctor.

'_You felt it too?'_ Star guessed, seeing him furrowing his brows.

'_She has 2 hearts.'_

'_I'll keep my mind open; find out if she's a friend or foe.'_

'_That's my girl.'_

She beamed at him.

"Who's there?" a man with glasses walked over, "Hello?"  
"Hello." Clara greeted as the Doctor nodded at the man, Star waving.  
"So. Hey. Condolences."  
"Condolences?" Clara frowned.  
"It's a mausoleum. It's our hello. Is there a particular dead person you want to talk to?"  
"Yes. Yes, there is."  
"This way then."  
"Are you okay?" Star asked Clara.

"No" she held her hand out, the girl taking it.  
"Good." The Doctor nodded, "There would be something very wrong if you were."

They followed doctor Chang as he led them off, Star looked back at Missy who merely grinned her sinister grin.

~.~

"Come in, come in." Chang led them into his office, a large room, in the middle a large tank the same as the others, with a skeleton inside as well. "Going to need to take a reading off you."  
"A reading?" Clara asked, as the Doctor looked around the tank, Star tilting her head at it.  
"Won't hurt." He reassured her, flicking a switch starting the reading.  
"What won't?"

"How does the body keep its integrity?" the Doctor called, "Why isn't it just a bunch of bones floating about?"  
"Each body is encased in a support exoskeleton." Chang explained.

"An invisible exoskeleton?" Clara asked, skeptical.  
"It's only invisible in the water. There's a specially engineered refraction index in the fluid so we can see the tank resident unimpeded by the support mechanisms.

"So each skeleton is inside something?" Star followed, "like clothing…or metal?"

"Are you serious?" Clara gaped, "X-ray water?"  
"It's so cool. Look at this. We call it dark water." Chang put his arm in the small jar of 'dark water' on his desk, his watch and sleeve vanishing. "Only organic matter can be seen through it." he removed his arm from the jar, his watch and sleeve appearing again. "I keep saying they should use this stuff in swimming pools."  
"Why?" the Doctor blinked, completely oblivious.  
"Think about it."  
"I am thinking about it. Why?" Star leaned and whispered in his ear the reason, "oh. Ew. No! Bad! You shouldn't even think about that in your mind!"  
Clara shook her head at them, count on Star to know the reason and count on the Doctor to not and then get freak out by the reason, "3W, what kind of name is that? What does it mean?"  
"Well, you know, don't you?" Chang countered, "You're here on business or they wouldn't have let you in. Sorry. Should have checked. Who are you?"  
"I thought that you would never ask. Sort out your security protocols, they're a disgrace." The Doctor pulled out the psychic paper.  
"Another government inspection? So soon? Why is there all this swearing?"  
"Oh, I've got a lot of internalised anger. What does 3W stand for?"  
"Well, the 3 words."  
"Tell us the 3 words."  
"Seriously? You don't know?" Chang looked between the trio.  
"Never mind what we know and what we don't know, just answer the question, please." Star rolled her eyes.  
"Because people who don't know, when they hear about this, they can freak out."  
"We're not going to freak out."  
"If you've had a recent loss, this might be, this will be disturbing." Change glanced at Clara.  
"She'll be fine." The Doctor answered for Clara.  
"Speak for me again; I'll detach something from you." Clara threatened.

"I might even let you borrow my dagger for that." Star told her. "MIGHT. Not definite."

Clara nodded, taking a breath, "I'll be fine."  
"You know how people are scared of dying?" Chang asked, "Like, everybody."  
"Of course." The Doctor nodded, as he and Clara sat down at the desk, Star wondering around the room, listening "It's the most fundamental fear in the universe."  
"They'd be a lot more scared if they knew what it was really like." He actived the transparent computer on his desk. "White noise off the telly. We've all heard it. A few years ago, Doctor Skarosa,"

"Skarosa? Skaro-sa?" Star repeated. Skarosa sounded an awful lot like Skaro, the Daleks home planet and this could easily be a trap by the Daleks, doctor Chang could be a Dalek Puppet. And Skaro was still in the universe, this universe, currently uninhabitable but still…

"Yes, our founder, he did something unexpected. He played that noise through a translation matrix of his own devising. This is a recording of what he heard."

A wave of multiple voices sounded.  
"Okay, people, voices." Clara murmured.  
"So what?" Star gestured him on.  
"Over time, Doctor Skarosa became convinced these were the voices of the recently departed." Change continued," He believed it was a telepathic communication from the dead."  
"Why? Was he an idiot?" the Doctor inquired.

"I doubt he was as idiotic as you," Star glanced at him.

"Oi!" he turned to look at her, she merely grinned. They both knew he was an idiot, a genius idiot.  
Chang eyed them before speaking again once the Doctor turned back to him, "He was able to isolate some of the voices, hear what they were saying."  
"So, an idiot then."  
"Shut up, Doctor." Clara glared at him.  
"What I'm about to play you will change your life and not for the better." Chang warned, "These are the three words which caused Doctor Skarosa to set up institutes, like this one, all over the world, to protect the dead. If you'd rather not hear these words, there's still time…"  
"Just hurry up before I stab you." Star rolled her eyes, "or worse throw a shoe at you."  
"Don't cremate me." A voice cried, repeating itself, "Don't cremate me!"  
"There is one simple, horrible possibility that has never occurred to anyone throughout human history." Change said over the recording.  
"Don't say it." Clara shook her head.  
He said it anyway, "The dead remain conscious. The dead are fully aware of everything that is happening to them."

"Fakery." The Doctor deadpanned, "All of it. It's a con, it's a racket!"  
"I promise you this is not a con."  
"What's that beeping?" Clara asked, hearing a faint beeping noise.

"Never mind about beeping." The Doctor scoffed, "Who cares about beeping? The dead are dead. 'They're not talking to you out of your television sets. They're just gone. And all these poor souls down there in these tanks, I'm sorry, but they're just dead and they're not coming back."

"Do you mind if I look around the place?" Star turned to the man.

"Erm, no. Course not." He blinked at the sudden question.

"Good, cause im going anyway." She headed to the doors.

'_Be careful.'_ The Doctor warned as she left.

'_Never.'_ She laughed.

~.~

Star kept in the shadows walking down the corridor, not wanting to be seen even if doctor Chang had said it was ok for her to look around. she was sly like a fox, oh Todd the fox, she loved the Fox and the Hound, if she was Todd then Clara was Copper. She shook her head even though Clara was like a puppy she was more like Lady.

She stopped, her thoughts gone, seeing the Missy woman placing a hand on the tank, a skeleton reaching for her. She kept in the shadows watching, the woman clapping her hands and all the skeletons stood up.

She made to turn, but stopped as Missy spoke, snapping her fingers, "human kind, bring out your dead."

Star watched as the skeletons pressed a button inside each tank, the water bubbling as it drained from the tanks. She had a bad feeling about this; metal disappeared in the water, leaving only the exo-skeleton. The logo looked like the eye of a Cyberman, why did she have such a bad feeling that they were Cybermen. First doctor Skarosa sounding like Skaro and now the worry of Cybermen, both together was even worse.

"Oh, my God." Doctor Chang gasped as he and the Doctor arrived, having left Clara in the office, speaking to 'Danny', "The tanks. The tanks are activating! They're not supposed to do that."  
"And all your dead people are standing." The Doctor added, "Don't you think you skipped the headline?"  
"Now, now, children. Naughty, naughty." Missy smirked.  
"Doctor Chang, your welcome droid has developed a fault."

"That isn't a droid." Star stepped out of the shadows. Missy looked at her in slightly surprise, she hadn't even known that she had left the others let alone had been watching from the shadows. Very sly.  
"That's my boss." Chang agreed.  
"You know, I might have been guilty of a just teensy little fibette." Missy grinned cheekily, "Doctor Chang, I really liked working with you. I've enjoyed every day of it."  
"I'm sorry?"  
"You know, I've even got a little photograph of you looking so sweet. I'm always going to keep it. Always!"  
"Are you going to kill me?"  
"Now, come on. Let's not dwell on horrid things. This is going to be our last conversation, and I'm the one who's going to have to live with that."  
"Please don't kill me." He pleaded.  
"Say something nice."  
"Please, please. I don't, I don't want to die. You're going to kill me, aren't you?"  
"Say something nice." She repeated.  
"Please!"  
"Doctor Chang, I've got all day. And I'm not going to kill you until you say something nice."  
He straightened his back, knowing that she would likely kill him, "It has been an absolute pleasure working with you, and I truly believe that you'll never be able to find it in your heart to murder me."

Missy held up a device aiming it at the poor man, incinerating him. The Doctor tugged Star behind him, slowly backing away.  
"Now, I'll be with you in a moment." Missy pointed at them, "Just feeling a bit emotional at the moment."

The water drained in the tank, enough to see the head of a Cyberman, "Cybermen!" Star gasped, oh, sometimes she wished she was wrong.  
"They're Cybermen," the Doctor realised, "all of them. We've got to stop them getting out."  
"Now who's missing the headline?" Missy turned to them, "The Nethersphere." She nodded to a sphere in a red spotted globe, "You know it's ever so funny, the people that live inside that think they've gone to heaven."  
"That's a matrix data-slice. A Gallifreyan hard drive. Time Lord Technology."  
"Imagine you could upload dying minds to that. Edit them. Rearrange them. Get rid of all those boring emotions. Ready to be re-downloaded. Meanwhile, you upgrade the bodies. Upload the mind, upgrade the body. Cybermen from cyberspace. Now, why has no-one ever thought of that before?"

"Because that's a stupid idea." Star snarled. She hated Cybermen and she hated Time Lords, put them together, she despised them. This would not end well for anyone.  
"How did you get hold of Time Lord Technology?" the Doctor demanded, "Who are you?"  
"You know who I am. I told you. You felt it. Surely you did."  
"2 hearts."  
"And both of them yours."  
"You're a Time Lord."

"Time Lady." Star corrected out of habit, staring at Missy trying to place which Time Lady. She knew the Rani used to be his friend and now seemed to enjoy killing him. It also could be Romana but it was unlikely the woman would kill him. There was a lot of Time Ladies who could want him dead. There was also a few who would gladly want her dead. The name didn't ring a bell, unless it wasn't her actually name. Not everyone used a title though.  
"Im old-fashioned." Missy agreed with a smile.  
"Which Time Lady?" the Doctor asked, backing away.  
"The one you both abandoned. The one you left for dead. Didn't you ever think I'd find my way back?"  
"Clara!" Star suddenly shouted. There was a skeleton in the office, so there was Cyberman in the office, she was all alone.  
"Oh, Clara, Clara, Clara!" Missy rolled her eyes, "You know I should shoot you in a jealous rage. Now, wouldn't that be sexy?"

Star whipped around on the woman, her dagger to her neck, not hard enough to hurt her, but enough to leave a mark, she pulled back just as quickly as she had moved, "just letting you know how fast I am." She pulled back and turned to get Clara.

"Unless you've got a head ache." Missy smirked.

Star whirled around and punched the woman in the jaw, making her stumble back in surprise.

"Why do you always punch me?" Missy glared, rubbing her jaw. "I've turned the lift off, though." she remarked to the Doctor, seeing him try to get the doors open.  
"I presume you have stairs." he mumbled.  
"Well, I'm not a Dalek." She muttered.

The Doctor sonic the doors opened, running outside, only to realise they were inside Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, the city busy with people walking, obvious to the Cybermen inside.

"Oh, dear, Doctor, Star." Missy chuckled behind them, "Didn't you realise where you were?"

"Get away from here!" the Doctor shouted, running around like a lost chicken, "All of you run!"

The Cybermen began to march outside.  
"Go! Go! Get away from here! Run away! Run, run! Get away from here all of you, now!"  
"I'm sorry, everyone." Missy called as she sat on some steps, watching as the Doctor ran around, "Another ranting Scotsman in the street. I had no idea there was a match on."

"I know who you are." Star stood in front of Missy.

"Oh, honey, of course you don't," she scoffed, "you take after your father."

Star smirked, crossing her arms, "what's it like, going from being a male for most of your life and suddenly regenerating into a woman…Master? You gave yourself away. I only punch you."

She didn't know why she did it, she just did, whenever they met Star always punched her...or him as she used to be, last time it was because he had tied them up and turned the humans into himself, the time before that, she was just angry and he was there. It just sort of happened.  
"Get away, go!"  
"Stop shouting, love." Missy ran to the Doctor, growing tired to listening to him, "Stop making a fuss. It's too late. All the graves of planet Earth are about to give birth. You know the key strategic weakness of the human race? The dead outnumber the living."  
"Who are you?" the Doctor tensed.  
"Oh, you know who I am. I'm Missy." She leaned her head on his arm.  
"Who's Missy?"  
"Please, try to keep up. Star managed to figure it out. Missy, short for Mistress. Well," she smirked at him, "I couldn't very well keep calling myself the Master, now could I?"


	12. Death in heaven

"Actually, you can still call yourself Master," Star rambled, not at all surprised that she had survived, the Doctor had cremated the Master before, and she always came back, so it didn't surprise her anymore. And besides last time when the Master was sent back to Gallifrey through the Gate they thought they had been sent to their deaths, but now knowing Gallifrey was out there, she guessed that the Master was likely still alive. The different gender surprised her though. "Didn't you choose the name because of the masters' degree?"

Missy, the Master, didn't seem to be listen to her, or at least chose to ignore her, "Look at them!" she gestured to the Cybermen covering the streets, "My boys."  
"Cybermen in broad daylight?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows, "You think people won't notice?"  
"Photos with the big metal men, one pound." Missy set her hat on the ground before one of the Cybermen, as people took pictures of them. "Oh, love!" she turned to the Time Lords as they watched people take pictures in disgust, this was so human, did they not remember all the other times Cybermen had invaded.  
Missy pulled out a small device, showing it to them, showing that Cybermen were everywhere, "New York. Paris. Rome. Marrakesh. Brisbane. Glasgow. Everywhere. Anywhere. Me and my boys. We're going viral."  
"Would you like me to take a picture?" someone asked, they looked over to see Kate's assistant, Osgood, walking over, "Sorry, selfies are never as good, are they? And you're having a lovely moment. Hang on!" she snatched the device.  
"No, just…" Missy tried to snatch it back but the Doctor held her arm.  
"Nice bow tie." Star grinned at the woman.  
"Bow ties are cool." Osgood beamed back at her, "Big smiles, and…now!"

The humans who had been taking photos quickly pulled out guns from pushchairs and backpacks, some soldiers running out of the nearby buildings.

"Move, move, move!" the soldiers shouted, "Stand by. Surround target. Hold back!"  
"Afternoon." Kate greeted, walking over, "You've picked a lovely day for it. My, don't you look shiny." She glanced at the Doctor, "Haircut?"  
"Bit of a trim." He shrugged.

"And he dyed it," Star added

"Might want to do the roots." She offered, "The woman."  
"Yes, ma'am." Two soldiers held Missy.

"Kate Stewart." She announced to the Cybermen, "Divorcee, mother of two, keen gardener, outstanding bridge player. Also Chief Scientific Officer, Unified Intelligence Taskforce, who currently have you surrounded."  
"Human weaponry is not effective against Cyber technology." One Cyberman answered.  
"Sorry, you left this behind on one of your previous attempts." She threw a battered old Cyber head to its feet, "So now that I have your attention, welcome to the only planet in the universe where we get to say this." she nodded to the Doctor and Star, "They're on the payroll."  
"I am?" Star blinked, the Doctor, yes, because he used to work for them, but her, that surprised her.  
"Well, technically."

"No, I'm not."

"Shush."  
"How much?" the Doctor asked.  
"Shush. Any questions?"

The Cybermen all stomped their feet, small rockets appearing before they all shot off into the sky.

"They can now fly!" Star cried.

"Oh, my God!" Osgood gasped, seeing the cathedral opening at the top, "Is it supposed to do that? Is that new?"

"A sun roof on Saint Paul's?" the Doctor countered, "Yes, I'd say that was new. "  
"There's going to be mass panic." Kate remarked, as more Cybermen flew out of the open dome, "Everyone in London can see that."  
"Everyone in London just clapped and went whee. Hush, I'm trying to count."  
"87, I think." Osgood called. "OCD."  
"91." Missy corrected. "Queen of evil."

"Oh, was King of the Wasteland not good enough for you?" Star turned to the woman, planning on annoying her as much as possible, because, well, that what she did.

"How could Saint Paul's be full of 91 Cybermen and nobody noticed?" Kate shook her head.  
"Dimensional engineering." The Doctor realised, "One space folded inside another. Bigger on the inside. Easy if you're a Time Lord."  
"Mostly deploying south, a smaller number east." Osgood told them, watching the Cybermen fly.  
"Yep, but one straight up."  
"So 91 isn't a coincidence?"  
"Of course it isn't."  
"Osgood? 91. Explain." Kate instructed her.  
"91 areas of significant population density in the British Isles."  
"That's one Cyberman for every city and major town." Star nodded,

"It's happening everywhere," the Doctor approached Missy, "all over the world, right now."  
"Sweet planet, this." Missy smiled, "I think I might keep it."  
"One Cyberman per city. What could they hope to accomplish?" Kate wondered.  
"Doctor! Star!" Osgood shouted as the Cyberman detonated itself.

"Has it exploded?" Kate frowned at it.  
"More than that," Missy called, grinning, "Cybermen don't just blow themselves up for no good reason, dear. They're not human."  
"If it's not exploding, what's it doing?" Star demanded.  
"Pollinating. Falling like rain into the cracks of the Earth. The dead are coming home. All shiny and new. In 24 hours the human race as you know it will cease to exist."  
"Tell us the plan. Please." She added, knowing she would get more from her with manners.

A solider fired at dart at Missy's neck, making her fall to her knees, "Oh! That was nice. Must do it again."  
"No. No, no, no, no, we need to talk to her! We need her awake." The Doctor argued, only to get shot as well. "Argh! No. No, no. Stupid. Stupid! No, no. Argh!"

Star held her hands up in surrender, "I won't cause a fuss. Unless there isn't much room or im blindfolded or you're taking us to the black archive...but you need to guard the graveyards…" she was cut off by Kate nodding to the soldier who fired at her. "Ok. Rambling was causing a fuss…"

"The first protocol is implemented." Kate spoke into her mobile, "We're good to go."

~.~

Soldiers led the Time Lords into a room holding an airplane, both tied onto a box trolley, hands cuffed behind their backs, they gasped awake as they were injected again.

"Why handcuffs?" Star asked, slipping out of them, "you should know how easy it is for me to slip out of them. I could punch you in the face while you thought I was tied up. I did that to the Master once, he wasn't pleased. Well, I say once…" more every time they met.

"I'm sorry," she told them, as a soldier uncuffed the Doctor, "In the event of an alien incursion on this scale, protocols are in place. Your co-operation is to be ensured and your unreliability assumed. You have a history."  
"You don't have a future without us." The Doctor told her. "Do you think your father would've done this?"  
"We both know he absolutely would."  
"Who is she?" Kate nodded to the still unconscious Missy as she was rolled onto the plane.  
"Long story."

"Where's Clara?" Star demanded.  
"Clara Oswald, your assistant?" Kate recalled.

"Cousin! I think she's mad at my though. I need to see her!"  
The Doctor nodded his agreement, "She was with us in Saint Paul's."

"Was she mad when I left?" she asked the Doctor.

"Well…no…but I'm not the one who knew when her boyfriend was going to die and kept it quiet."

Star swallowed, looking down at the ground, not liking the tone of his voice. It sounded like he was upset with her himself. "Are YOU mad at me?"

He looked at her, blinking owlishly, "why would I be mad at you?" he sounded genuinely confused she would even ask that question.

She grinned, "No reason!"  
"The team's still on site but they've been unable to gain access to the building." Kate told them.  
"I want her found and brought here. I need her with us."  
"Then give the order. As soon as you're on board your word is law. Quite literally."  
"You got the TARDIS out, though?" Star spotted as the old girl was lifted into the plane by a crane.  
"Yes, and Saint Paul's locked down."

They walked into the main cabin room of the plane, an office of the sorts, lined with computers and chairs surrounding a long table in the centre of the room.

"Where are we going?" the Doctor asked, looking around the room, "Cloudbase?"  
"You mean the Valiant?" Kate asked.  
"Cloudbase was Thunderbirds." Osgood told them.  
"Too conspicuous." Kate said, "We need your location concealed, not advertised. From now on you're a moving target."

The Doctor wandered over to the portrait of the Brigadier, "Ah, I see you're bringing Daddy along, too. That's very sweet."

"I do that," Star grinned, "I bring my dad along despite being grown up."

"You're grown up when I say you are."

Star opened her mouth, then closed it again and opened it again, "you are aware I WILL make you say I am a grown up, right?"

"I am very aware."

She narrowed her eyes at him, ONE day he would admit she was a grown up. She'd make sure of it.

"Sir. Ma'am" An Indian officer saluted the Time Lords.  
"Oh, don't do that." The Doctor groaned, "You look like you're self-concussing, which would explain all of military history, now I think about it."  
"Colonel Ahmed, sir. Privileged to meet you."  
"Love your outfit, Colonel Ahmed. Are you in the Scouts? Are you a Man Scout? I didn't know they had those." He walked over to the small table and make himself a coffee.  
"It was Captain Scarlet." The man, Colonel Ahmed, told Osgood.  
"Sorry?" she frowned.  
"Cloudbase. It wasn't Thunderbirds, it was Captain Scarlet."  
"Oh God, so it was."  
"My confidence is growing every minute." The Doctor muttered.  
"The President is on board." Kate picked up the phone, informing the cockpit.

"What about you and Sylvia Anderson, you fox-trotted with her..." Star began.

"Good point," the Doctor nodded, before realising what Kate had said, "Hang on a second. The President? We don't want Americans bobbing around the place. They'll only start praying."

"Not the President of America, sir." The Indian man corrected him, "The President of Earth."  
The Doctor sat at the head of the table, dumping a lot of sugar cubes in his frothy coffee, "There isn't one."  
"There is now."

"Who?" Star tilted her head, popping a sugar cube in her mouth.  
"The incursion protocols have been agreed internationally." Kate explained to them, "In the event of full-scale invasion, an Earth President is inducted immediately, with complete authority over every nation state. There was only one practical candidate."  
"That's your answer for everything, isn't it?" the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Vote for an idiot."

"If you say so, Mr President. So long as you're on this plane, you're the Commander in Chief of every army on Earth. Every world leader is currently awaiting your instructions. You are the Chief Executive Officer of the human race. Any questions?"

"What about me?" Star inquired.

"What about you, what?"

"Am I like co-president or something…?"

"No." Star pouted at that, "but when he is unavailable you will take his place."

The Doctor frowned at her, "do you even want to be president?"

"No." she admitted quietly, "but it'll be nice to be asked."

"This is your captain speaking," the captain called over the speakers, "Please prepare for take-off."

~.~

When they were up in the skies, they headed down to the cargo hold Osgood was using as a lab, with Missy still unconscious on the trolley, the TARDIS in the corner.

With a nod from the Doctor, a soldier injected her, making her jerk awake.

"Why are you still alive?" the Doctor got straight to the point.  
"You saved me." Missy smiled at him.  
"I saved Gallifrey."

"WE saved Gallifrey," Star corrected, "I destroyed the Moment so we couldn't use it." she informed Missy.

"Yes, I heard about that. Spectacular, by the way. There's always collateral damage with us isn't there?"  
"Gallifrey's lost in another dimension."  
"Yes and no."  
"Meaning?" the Doctor frowned.  
"Yes, it's in another dimension. No, it's not lost."  
"You know where it is?"  
"Yep! You know the best part about knowing?" she smirked between them, "Not telling you."

"You little…" Star lunged at her but the Doctor tugged her back. Now was not the time for Star to attack and likely kill her. As much as he hated to say it he wanted her alive, they needed her alive to stop the Cybermen and to find out where Gallifrey is.  
"Mr President, sir, we're ready for you up here." The Indian man called over the speakers.  
"Remember all those years when all you wanted to do was to rule the world?" the Doctor asked Missy before answering the man, "On my way."  
"Thank you, Mr President."  
"Piece of cake."  
"What ya doing?" Star skipped over to Osgood.  
"Oh, er, it's her little device thingy." Osgood held up Missy's device, "I thought there might be useful information on it. Who is she?"  
"You'd never believe us if I told you." the Doctor muttered walking over.  
"Cos I thought she might be the Master, regenerated into female form? Your childhood friend, responsible for a number of previous incursions."  
"That was fairly quick." The Doctor murmured, impressed with Osgood for figuring out who Missy was.  
"We do have files on all our ex-prime ministers. She wasn't even the worst."

"Really?" Star laughed, "here that!" she grinned at Missy, "there was a HUMAN prime minister worse than you."

Missy sent here a sour look, really not currently liking the girl, she was too confident and loud for her own good. She'd have to do something about that.

"Doctor, there's something nobody's talking about." Osgood continued.  
"Which is?" he asked.  
"The clouds caused by the exploding Cybermen, they haven't dispersed. They're still there. In fact, they've expanded and are covering almost all the land masses. We're all looking at the graveyards. Maybe we should be looking up? What do you think?"  
"All of time and space?" he asked, walking back up the ladder.  
"Sorry?"  
"Just something for your bucket list." He left the room as Star winked at her, following him, Osgood taking a breath from her inhaler, shocked that they had basically giving her an invitation to travel in the TARDIS with them.

~.~

"Localised rain in the cemeteries has resulted in what can only be described as disturbances to the soil." A newsman reported on the TV screen back in the main cabin, everyone sitting around the table, the Doctor at the head, Star next to him, everyone else taking the remaining seats, "Extraordinary eyewitness accounts are claiming that silver creatures are climbing from the graves."  
"These scenes are being repeated everywhere." Kate informed everyone as she walked around, "Every cemetery, every mortuary, every funeral home, every hospital, the dead are returning to life as Cybermen."  
"The public are being advised to stay away from all cemeteries."

"We've done heat scans of some of the cemeteries and, in each case only a handful of Cybermen have so far emerged. But every individual burial site is active."  
"Active?" the Indian man frowned.  
"Hatching." The Time Lords corrected.  
"More are coming." Kate added, "Potentially millions."  
"So the rain caused all that in just a few hours?" the Indian man tried to follow.  
"It wasn't rain." Star argued, "It was pollen. Cyber-pollen. Every tiny particle of a Cyberman contains the plans to make another Cyberman. All it has to do is to make a contact with compatible living organic matter and bang! Full conversion. But if they have learned how to convert the dead…" everyone glanced at her, making her shrug, "Know your enemy."  
The Doctor looked up at the monitor of the cargo hold, showing Missy tied up, "That's what she was doing. That's what 3W was for. She creates an all-new paranoia among the super-rich about dying. She exploits the wealth and the mortal remains of selected idiots so she can create a whole new race of Cybermen. Cybermen who can recruit corpses. Throw away your guns, Man Scout, it's all over. How can you win a war against an enemy that can weaponise the dead?"  
"They're not attacking, apart from isolated incidents." The Indian man frowned, "They're just wandering about."  
"They're newborns. Give them time." Star reasoned.

"Why were you there this morning?" the Doctor asked, it wasn't just a coincidence they were there already, they must have know, "Why were you already attacking?"  
"Been investigating 3W for a while, then we got a tip-off." Kate said.  
"From a woman with a Scottish accent." The Indian man added.  
"Can't play to the gallery unless there's a gallery, and here I am." The Doctor mumbled, knowing Missy had told them. "Dead bodies don't have minds, of course, but she's been upgrading dying minds to a hard drive for a long time. So she upgrades the hardware, and then she updates the software."  
"What do you mean, a long time?" Kate turned to frown at him, "How long?"  
"Well, she must have a TARDIS somewhere, so as long as she likes. The past, the future."  
"How long, Doctor?"

"How long has the human race had a concept of an afterlife? Turns out the afterlife is real, and it's emptying. Every graveyard on planet Earth is about to burst its banks."

"Mr President, you need to get back in your seat." Kate ordered the Doctor as he stood up to wonder around the room.  
"I don't like being the president." He moaned, "People keep saluting. I'm never going to salute back." He picked up a lily, smelling it as he stood in front of the Brigadiers portrait.  
"Do you know, that was always my dad's big ambition," Kate gave a small chuckle, "to get you to salute him just once."  
The Doctor looked up at the portrait, "He should've asked." He murmured, before setting the flowers down and looking out the window.

Missy stuck her tongue out on the monitor; Star scrunched her nose up at her.

She didn't technically hate her, but she had joined with the Cybermen know her hatred to them for killing her mother, but Missy herself hadn't done anything to make her hate her yet.

She glanced at the Doctor who was busy talking, not paying any attention to Missy, so Star quietly snuck off to keep a closer eye on the woman.

~.~

Star jumped down the ladder just in time to see Missy disintegrate poor Osgood. She shook her head at the Time Lady, "why did you feel the need to do that?"

"Well she was so pretty. I couldn't resist." Missy grinned as she stepped on Osgood's glasses, the only things left of the human.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, walking closer to the woman.

"We could do it together. Just us girls."

"You're an idiot," Star sneered. She, or more he as the Master used to be, had asked her to join him last time when the Time Lords had used him as a link to escape the war. She said no, mainly because she was afraid of herself back then and didn't want to do anything that would make her the bad guy but this time she couldn't use that excuse.

"You said that last time."

She nodded, "so I did."

"Why don't you want to help me? We'd be the perfect team. You'd never have to worry about hurting people you care about, they'd be perfectly safe, come on. Use that remarkable brain of yours for something else than just helping your old man out."

Star paused at that. She knew she had a brilliant mind. She'd been told plenty of times but she only used it to think about what the enemy's plans would be and so they got the upper hand. Without her the Doctor would still be stuck on their plans but she could always work out the plans, the plans of their enemies, like her mind knew the evil plans and knew how to get caught or how not to.

Star let out a small breath at that.

~.~

"Star!" the Doctor jumped down the ladder into the cargo hold. He had asked a question to Star only he didn't get an answer and saw that the monitor had turned to static. He ran here without another word just knowing Star was down with Missy. He looked down as he stepped on something, only to see it was Stars yellow hair bow. "Star?"

"I screamed," Star muttered, sitting on a large crate, staring at him with cold icy blue eyes, "but you didn't hear me."

"Star…" he breathed, "im sorry," he moved a piece of her now raven black hair behind her ear. She was slightly older now, looked a few years younger than Clara now, her long black hair falling over her shoulders, parted down the middle.

"I died. I died because you didn't come. You promised."

Missy appeared out from behind the TARDIS, "N'aww, she was brave until the very end, no wonder she's your favourite" She walked over to them, "ask me."

"Shut up!" he yelled at her, he didn't know what exactly had happened but he guessed that she had just killed Star and no doubt on purpose to get to him. His childhood best friend had just killed his daughter and was still hoping for him to be nice to her. He had no idea why they were ever friends.

"Ask me. I know you want to know what my plan is. You'll be surprised. I've got a gift for you. You know, I've been up and down your timeline, meeting all those silly people who died to keep you alive. And you know what I worked out? What you really need."  
"What?"  
"To know that you're just like me!" she grinned.

The TARDIS phone began to ring.  
"Oh, and now it begins." Missy smiled, "Doctor, I do believe you're on call. Miss Oswald expects. Who else but the girl who's got your number? Whoops!"  
"It was you!" the Doctor gasped as he realised she gave Clara the number, saying it was a helpline, "You put us together."

"No, Star did. I just kept you together."  
"What?" he breathed, glancing at Star who shrugged, muttering about timelines and paradoxes, "Why?"  
"Cos she's perfect, innit? The control freak and the man who should never be controlled. You'd go to hell if she asked. And she would. The phone's ringing, Doctor. Can you hear that? Now that is the sound of your chain being yanked. Heel, Doctor!" she began to mimic Clara, "Help me, Doctor. Help me. Help me, Star."

"Shut it." Star sneered.  
"Clara," the Doctor picked up the phone.

"Doctor, im with Danny," the woman replied.

"Danny's dead, Clara."  
"Not yet. Not quite. But he wants to be."  
"Clara…Clara?"

"He's a Cyberman. Doctor, Danny's a Cyberman. And he's crying. Doctor, he feels it. He's crying."

"Clara, don't do it. Just don't do it!"  
"It's in his chest. He says it's an inhibitor. It can delete emotions or something."  
"I know what it does. If you turn it on he'll become a Cyberman."  
"He's already a Cyberman."

"Not yet, he isn't." he argued, if he still felt emotions then he wasn't fully a Cyberman, wasn't under their control.

"He's hurting because I hurt him and he wants it to stop."  
"Stop the pain and he'll kill you!"  
"Look, are you going to help me, because I can't do this alone."  
"I'm not going to help you commit suicide."

"Look, the TARDIS can home in on this call, right? Either you help me, or you leave me alone." She hung up.

"Clara?" the Doctor tried, "Clara, no."

"Doctor!" Kate ran in the room, "The Cybermen are in. The plane's going down."  
"Oh, great." Missy rolled her eyes, "It's the daughter one. Do you like her? I like her." She grabbed onto one of the straps as the plane turned sharply, the Doctor grabbed the other one with one hand, Star grabbing the TARDIS door handle just as Missy opened the hatch, sucking Kate out with a scream.  
"Why did you do that?" the Doctor yelled, "You didn't have to do that!"  
"Oh, don't be so selfish." Missy shouted back, "I'm going to miss her, too. In fact, you know what? Just for that, I'm leaving." She called into her bracelet, "Boys, blow up this plane and, I don't know, Belgium, yeah? Kill some Belgians. Might as well. They're not even French. Byeeee!" she teleported away in a blue light, leaving the Doctor holding on for his life and Star jut managing to get the door open and inside.

The Doctor fell through the sky as the plane exploded.

'_Star!'_ the Doctor shouted in her mind, _'Anytime you want to help would be great!'_

Star opened the TARDIS doors and he fell in, landing on the chair by the console.

"Happy?" she asked, tracing Clara's call to a graveyard.

"Thank you." he hurried over to help her, unable to help but notice she kept her distance from him. She was now avoiding him and he didn't blame her.

Or maybe it was just the regeneration...he didn't know which he preferred right now.

~.~

They materialised in the graveyard the TARDIS had traced Clara to, the woman working on Danny's inhabitator, "Clara, don't!" they ran over.

"Help me." She pleaded.  
"If you do what you're trying to do, if you succeed, he will snap you."  
"No."  
"Then he will step over your broken body and break another and another and another. He will never stop."  
"I will not harm her." Danny swore.

"You won't even remember her." Star sneered ar him.  
"Who are you?"

"Take a guess."

"Star." Clara blinked; surprised the girl so strong had regenerated in such a short period of time. And wondering; how? Did Missy kill her, she wouldn't put it pass the woman. Now wasn't the time to ask. Danny was more important right this minute and the other Cybermen. Besides she was still mad at her.

"I had a friend once." The Doctor told Danny, "We ran together when I was little. And I thought we were the same. But when we grew up, we weren't. Now, she's trying to tear the world apart, and I can't run fast enough to hold it together. The difference is this." He put his hand on Danny's chest disc, where his heart would be, "Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain, we can't feel the hurt we inflict."  
"Are you telling me seriously, for real, that you can?" Danny asked, skepical.  
"Of course I can."  
"Then shame on you, Doctor."  
"Yes. Oh, yes."

The clouds above rumbled, "What are the clouds going to do?" Star demanded of him, "What is the plan?"  
"How would I know?" he shook his head.  
"You're part of a hive mind. That would be how you found Clara, or you are unbelievably clingy."

"I can't see much."  
"Look harder." The Doctor said.  
"Clara, watch this. This is who the Doctor is, what he made his daughter into. Watch the blood-soaked old general in action. I can't see properly, sir, because this needs activating. If you want to know what's coming, you have to switch it on. And didn't all of those beautiful speeches just disappear in the face of a tactical advantage? Sir."  
The Doctor sighed, "I need to know. I need to know."

"Yes." Danny nodded, "Yes, you do."  
"Give me the screwdriver." Clara held out her hand, prepared to do this herself.  
"No." the Doctor refused.

"Just do it, Doctor. Do as you are told." Regretfully, the Doctor gave her the sonic, before walking away.  
"Typical officer." Danny looked at him in disgust, "Got to keep those hands clean."  
"You do not insult him," Star growled at Danny, "something you should know, I destroyed a whole planet of Cybermen just because we didn't have a bomb to blow up the planet."

"You are so full of yourself."

Star held out her hand, her dagger dropping into a moment later, she smirked, "I know what I can do, and I'll do it to succeed." She currently didn't know who she was, but she was sure Danny was correct. Too many times she had died because she hadn't defended herself, she hadn't been cautious, well, no more. Now she was letting her bad side out, no more weak little Star.  
"Just point and think, yeah?" Clara asked, aiming the sonic at Danny.  
"Yes." She nodded. It was barely 5 minutes but she already knew she was no longer a good girl; she would do whatever it took to get an advantage, she would do anything to be the best.  
"Okay. I wasn't very good at it, but I did love you." Clara told Danny.  
"I love you too." Danny replied to her.  
"I'm never going to say that again."  
"Me neither."  
"Ready?"  
"Yeah."

"I feel like im killing you," she sobbed.

"I'm already dead. You're here this time at least."  
"Goodbye, Danny."

"Goodbye, Clara."

She flashed the sonic at him, he straightened up as his face expression blanked, without thinking she ran to hug him tightly.

"Clara, no!" the Doctor ran back over, seeing her hugging him, "Step away! He's activating! Clara, step away now! Don't. Danny. Danny, if you can hear me, if you're still there, what are the clouds going to do?"  
"The rain will fall again." he stated, his voice as blank as his face, "All humanity will die."  
"And rise again as Cybermen."  
"Correct."  
"How do we stop it?"

"We cannot be stopped."

Missy appeared, floating down with a umbrella, "someone enjoys Earth TV," Star muttered under her breath, seeing the similarities between her and Mary Poppins.  
"Oh, that was brilliant!" Missy grinned, "Oh, I love the telly here, but did you see that? Oh, Clara, you poor thing. You must feel like death. Let me pop away the pain." She pulled out her device but Star grabbed it and tossed it to the side, "oh, give it up already! This is pathetic!"

"Oh, sorry, hon, I'm just getting a bit carried away. It's your friends, they're so more-ish. Hmm? Oh, stop looking all cross-pants. Both of you. I'm here to give you a gift. Could you at least try and be excited?"  
"What gift?" the Doctor eyed her, not trusting her at all.

Missy spoke into her bracelet, "Cyberdears!" the Cybermen all turned to her, "Look at Mummy! Raise your arms." The Cybermen did at told, except Danny, "Lower your arms. Raise your right. Lower your right. Turn on the spot. There are exits at the front and rear of the aircraft. Please follow the lights up the aisle. You see, Doctor? The power to slaughter whole worlds at a time, then make them do a safety briefing. Everyone who ever lived, man, woman and child, is now at my command. An indestructible army to rage across the universe. The more they kill, the more they recruit. Happy birthday. Oh! You didn't know, did you? It's lucky one of us remembers these things. And your own daughter forgot as well."

"I didn't forget," Star remarked, "We celebrated earlier. Don't you ever make me seem like a bad daughter!"

Missy just smirked at her as she snapped her bracelet on the Doctors wrist, and the Cybermen turned to him, "Happy Birthday, Mr President. Tiny bit pleased?" she smiled, "Oh, go on, crack a smile. I want to see if your eyebrows drop off."  
"All of this. All of it, just to give me an army?" The Doctor shook his head at the preposterous idea.  
"Well, I don't need one, do I? Armies are for people who think they're right. And nobody thinks they're righter than you. Give a good man firepower, and he'll never run out of people to kill."  
"I don't want an army!" he yelled at her.  
"Well, that's the trouble!" she yelled back at him, "Yes, you do! You've always wanted one! All those people suffering in the Dalek camps? Now you can save them. All those bad guys winning all the wars? Go and get the good guys back."  
"Nobody can have that power."  
"You will, because you don't have a choice. There's only way you can stop these clouds from opening up and killing all your little pets down here. Conquer the universe, Mr President. Show a bad girl how it's done." She dropped into a curtsy.

"Why are you doing this?" he glared.  
"I need you to know we're not so different. I need my friend back. Every battle, every war, every invasion. From now on, you decide the outcome. What's the matter, Mr President? Don't you trust yourself?"

The Doctor paused, thinking back to when he asked Clara if he was a good man, how she didn't know. How Rusty had called him a good Dalek, how he hadn't even realised his own daughter had snuck off and died and then…he laughed, "Thank you. Thank you so much. I really didn't know. I wasn't sure. You lose sight sometimes. Thank you! I am not a good man! I am not a bad man. I am not a hero. And I'm definitely not a president. And no, I'm not an officer. Do you know what I am? I am…an idiot!"

"Agreed." Star stated.

"With a box and a screwdriver. Just passing through, helping out, learning, teaching. I don't need an army. I never have, because I've got them. Always them. Because love, it's not an emotion. Love is a promise." He turned to see Danny wrapping an arm around Clara, "and he will never hurt her. P E, catch!" the Doctor threw him the control bracelet on his arm. "You didn't notice, did you? While you were doing all your silly orders, while you were showing off, the one soldier not obeying."  
"No, that's wrong." Missy shook her head, "That's impossible."

"The rain will not fall." Danny stated, marching over.  
"Oh? Why won't it?"  
"The clouds will burn."  
"And who'll burn them?"  
"I will burn them."  
"How?"  
"I will burn."

"One burning Cyberman is hardly going to save the planet." Missy rolled her eyes at the idea.  
"Correct." He nodded before speaking into the bracelet, "Attention!" the Cybermen turned to him, "This is not a good day. This is Earth's darkest hour. And look at you miserable lot. We are the Fallen. But today, we shall rise. The army of the dead will save the land of the living. This is not the order of a general, nor the whim of a lunatic."  
"Excuse me?" Missy put her hands on her hips, offended.

"This is a promise. The promise of a soldier!" he turned to Clara, "You will sleep safe tonight." He ignited his rocket boots and rose up, the Cybermen following, flying into the clouds, exploding, letting the light seep through as the black cloud disappeared.  
"Well. The clouds have all gone." Clara remarked quietly.  
"Yes, burned up." the Doctor nodded. "Totally burnt. Burnt to nothing." He glanced at the tears in her eyes, realising that the man she loved was now gone, "Sorry."  
"10 0 11, 0 0: 0 2." Missy said quietly.  
"What did you say?" Star whipped around to her, recognising those coordinates.  
"The current coordinates of Gallifrey. It's returned to its original location. Didn't you ever think to look?"  
"Liar!" she growled, it couldn't possibly be there, it was too obvious.  
"We can…we can go together…just the three of us. Wouldn't that be nice?"  
"You'd be clapped in irons." The Doctor told her.  
"If you like."

"Doctor Im assuming you can remember those coordinates," Clara said, aiming the device at Missy.

"No." the Doctor shook his head at her, "No, don't you dare. I won't let you."  
"Old friend, is she? If you have ever let this creature live, everything that happened today, is on you. All of it, on you. And you're not going to let her live again."  
Star grabbed the device.

"Seriously." Missy raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh, Star. To save her soul? But who, my dear, will save yours? Say something nice. Please?"

"Why should I?" she scoffed, preparing to kill her.

"Star. no." the Doctor pulled the device out of her grip, putting on a fight as she stubbornly refused to let go off it before he finally loosened her grip. She really hadn't changed THAT much. Missy smiled only for the Doctor to aim the device at her, "you win." He murmured, offering such a small condolence for his best friend.

"I know," she whispered, her gaze shifted to Star to see if she had anything to stay but she just stared right back at her and smirked.

The Doctor swallowed at he readied the weapon to fire…only for another bolt hit Missy first.

They turned to see a Cyberman still standing, pointing to the side. They hurried over to the direction to find what it was pointing at.

"Over here!" they rushed over to see Clara kneeling next to Kate on the ground.

"Kate." The Doctor gasped, crouching at her side, "She's breathing! She's alive! She can't be here."  
"She fell out of a plane. The Cyberman must have caught her." Star realised, glancing at the Cyberman.  
"Doctor, she's talking about her dad." Clara looked at him, hearing the woman muttering.  
"Of course." The Doctor nodded, standing up again, "The Earth's darkest hour and mine. Where else would you be?"  
The Doctor saluted the Cyberman, knowing it was the Brigadier, the Cyberman bowed it head and shot into the sky, exploding himself.  
"Thank you." the Doctor smiled as he watched his old friend fly off.

~.~

Two weeks later found Clara sitting in a café, waiting for the Time Lords to enter. After the graveyard she had gone home to mourn Danny, asking to meet again in two weeks. "Well?" Star gestured to her new chosen outfit. "What'd think?" it was all black, a simple black top, black leather pants, black leather jacket and black chunky knee high laced up boots, her black hair falling loose over her shoulders.

"Improving." Clara offered a smile.

"I meant my clothes."

"I don't like it," she stated bluntly, curious to what Star was reply with, despite knowing full well that there is the possibility Star will stab her.

"Have you seen what you're wearing?"

"It's too black." It was too weird seeing Star, the girl who used to wear brightly coloured clothes now all in black. "and that is a lot of leather."

Star looked down, "hmm. Maybe I should find something purple." Since travelling she had always tended to wear the colour purple, something that didn't change was the fact that it was her favourite colour. "or maybe not, just to annoy you."

"See you've got news for us." The Doctor cut in, sitting opposite her at the table, trying to tug Star into the chair next to him, but she moved to sit next to Clara.  
"News?" Clara frowned.  
He nodded to the bracelet she had on her wrist, Missy's control bracelet, "He figured it out then? PE figured out there was a way home."  
"Yeah. Yeah, he did."  
"Oh, good old PE. He'll make a maths teacher yet."

"Listen, Doctor, Star. There's, there's something that I have to tell you and, er, it's not good news so just, just listen, okay?"  
"We know."  
"Sorry?"

"We know exactly what you've got to tell me."  
"You do?"  
"You and Danny are together now. That's great. That's how it should be. But the old man and the blue box, that's never going to fit in. So no more flying around. No more lying."  
"Okay, no, that's not exactly…"  
"It's fine."

"No, it's not fine. It, it really isn't fine."  
"We've found Gallifrey." Star cut her off. They gone to Gallifrey's old coordinates as Missy had said…but they were only greeted with dark space, no orange planet in sight or in other universes of the same coordinates. Just…nothing. She had lied to them. Naturally.  
"Wow!" Clara blinked, surprised at that information, "Oh, my God."

"We entered the coordinates, just like she said." The Doctor told her, "And found Gallifrey. For once, she wasn't lying."

"So, what are you going to do now?"  
"Go home."

"Okay." She nodded slowly.  
"Gallifrey can be a good place. We can help make it that."  
"What, you two?"  
"Shut up."  
"You won't just steal a TARDIS and run away?"

"No. not this time…"

"Maybe you," Star sighed, "I wont stay there for long…too many memories."

She would never give up travelling just like that, whether they did find Gallifrey again or not. Besides, when they did eventually actually find the planet she'd be able to live her own life how she wanted too, she wouldn't have to do as daddy said, do what he did. She could do what she wanted, how she wanted to do it.

"It's a long commute, so, you know, I thought, with you and Danny…" the Doctor began.  
"Yeah. Me and Danny. Me and Danny, we are going to be fine." She reassured them, seeing him looking concerned and loving that, loving how they both cared deeply for her, even if it hurt her to say that, to lie to her favourite cousin and uncle. "Don't you worry. You go home. Go home. Go be a king and…" she glanced at Star, "queen or something."  
"We could rule the planet!" Star smirked looking very excited before she slumped in her seat, "boring!"  
"Or the other way round, you know. Whatever."  
"Yeah, queen, that would be good too." The Doctor nodded his agreement.  
"Yeah." She sighed deeply, "Tell you what, seeing as its goodbye, shall we break a habit?"  
"What? What habit?"  
"Hug."

"I hug!" he defended, "all the time."

"So shut up and hug the woman then." Star rolled her eyes.

"Yes ma'am." The Doctor stood up, "Come on, you're on the clock."  
"Fair enough." Clara stood up and hugged him.  
"Why don't you like hugging, Doctor?" Clara wondered.  
"Never trust a hug." He muttered, "It's just a way to hide your face."  
"Yeah." She closed her eyes at that before pulling away, "so…is this it?"

"Well, you have our number," Star shrugged, turning and heading back to the TARDIS which was parked outside.

"Doctor? Star," Clara called, "Travelling with you made me feel really special. Thank you for that. Thank you for making me feel special."  
"Thank you for exactly the same." The Doctor smiled heading inside the TARDIS.

"Give us a call when you get lonely." Star looked at her, she could tell something was bothering the woman.

"Yeah," Clara let out a breath as Star began to close the door, "Star?" She poked her head back out, "thanks for giving me your number."

Over the past few weeks she had recognised Star as the woman in the shop, dressed in a tattery white blouse and burned purple skirt, looking as though she had never slept in her life and never been in the sun but somehow she had trusted her with the phone number, not even questioning her looking like death.

"Just keeping the timelines in order," she shrugged, "see you, cousin." She shut the door on the woman.

The Doctor sat in a chair by the console, his head in his fingers, half asleep as Star stood in the console, checking the old girl wasn't damaged from when they fell out the plane, if she was (she wasn't, thankfully) Missy would pay next time they met, because she knew they would meet again.

"Coo-ee!" A voice called from outside the doors, "Hello? Doctor? Star? You know it can't end like that. Hmm? We need to get this sorted and quickly. She's not all right, you know. And neither are you two. I'm coming in." the door opened and snowflakes fluttered to the ground, the Doctor walked over as a man in red entered with a long white beard, "Ah, there you are. I knew I'd get round to you eventually. Now, stop gawping, and tell me. What do you want for Christmas?"

Star stared a moment longer before giving Santa a sour look, "not you."


	13. Last Christmas

The Doctor hurried around the console, piloting them to Clara's and were outside on the snowy roof before the TARDIS had completely materialised, standing before Clara, 'Santa Claus', two of his elves and his reindeers who were flying around.

"Clara," the Doctor approached her, "I want you to step inside the TARDIS. I don't want you to talk; I want you to do as I ask. Please."

Clara just stared at them, as she stood in her nightie.  
"That was good, with the box." One of Santa's elf's remarked, eying the TARDIS.  
"Humph. Not often we get upstaged on a rooftop." The second agreed, "Hmm."  
"Yes, we're really here. We're back. Now get inside the TARDIS."  
Clara silently obeyed and entered the TARDIS.  
"I know what this is." The Doctor looked at Santa, "I know what's happening, and I know what's at stake."  
"I don't think you do, Doctor." Santa remarked, "But I promise, before this Christmas Day is done, you will be glad of my help."  
"Happy Easter."  
"Ooh, brutal!" the second elf said.  
"Cool exit line, though." The first elf had to admit.  
"Be sure to save some room for a tangerine, Doctor and you Star." Santa told them as they headed back inside the TARDIS.  
"Nobody likes the tangerines." Star snapped, "Or walnuts." She closed the door on them.

"I'm really back here." Clara remarked softly, "This is, this is real, yeah?"  
The Doctor set up the coordinates at the console.  
"Doctor? Star, talk to me. I never thought I was going to see either of you again. What is going on out there? What's happening? Oh, that noise." she smiled at the TARDIS started up, "Never knew how much I loved it."  
"There's something you have to ask yourself, and it's important." The Doctor told her, seriously, "Your life may depend on it. Everybody's life. Do you really believe in Santa Claus?"  
"Do you know what?" she smiled, "Yeah. Right now, here, I think I do."

~.~

The hurried across the landscape of the North Pole, towards a door at some sort of base with vehicles around the buildings and a satellite on the roof.

The Doctor soniced the door open to find a human infirmary with a young blonde woman on her knees playing air-guitar.

The girl screamed as she spotted them, "We've, we've got ghosts!" she gasped into the ear piece she was wearing, "Yeah, yeah. It's a skeleton man, a girl in a nightie and a goth girl."  
"Not goth." Star huffed.

"Eh, Doctor?" Clara looked over at the four figures lying on the beds with some sort of rock on their heads.

"No, no, no, you're making me think about them." The blonde cried. "Don't make me think about them!  
"What are they?" Clara asked, only for the figures to slowly sit up.  
"Look. Just don't ask, yeah? And don't look. Don't make me think about them."  
The Doctor scanned them with the sonic, "Deaf. Blind. How can they see us? How do they even know that we're here?"  
"They can only see you, yeah, if you see them." The blonde told them, "So just, so just don't look, don't even think about them."  
"Oh, telepathic." Star nodded, "They can home in on their own image in someone else's brain."

"Third-party perception." The Doctor explained, "Mind piracy. We're being hacked."  
"What does that even mean?" Clara shook her head as the figures stood up.  
"The visual input from your optic nerve is being streamed to their brains. Stop broadcasting. Close your eyes and you too Star." they both did so.  
After a moment Clara spoke again, "They're still coming, aren't they?  
"It's because you're still thinking about them. So long as you retain them as an active memory, they can still home in. Think about something else."  
"How?" she frowned hearing the woman singing, "Why is she singing?"  
"She's running interference." The Doctor explained quickly, "She's trying to distract herself. 304 minus 17."  
"Sorry, what?"  
"Plus 20. Just do it!"  
"507."  
"Minus 14, times 4."  
"1972."  
"Stop being so good at arithmetic."  
"I can't help it!"  
"Danny Pink!" Star called, knowing that would distract her,

"Yes!" the Doctor agreed, "What is Danny Pink up to right now? He's probably flirting with your neighbour or texting women of low moral character…" he was cut off by Clara slapping him hard around the cheek.

"Don't you dare." Clara hissed, her eyes opened as she glared at them both, "Don't you dare say that."  
"I was only…"  
"Danny Pink is dead." She stated.

"No, he's not."

"He's dead."

Before he could say anything else the infirmary doors opened and three more crew members wearing the same uniform as the blonde ran in holding very large guns. Two were female, one older and one young and black with a middle-aged man with them.  
"Go, run, now, now, now!" the younger woman yelled.  
The Doctor pulled the woman from the floor heading to the doors only for spiders made of mucus to drop down from the ceiling.  
"Here they come!" the young woman, who seemed to be the one in charge, shouted.  
"No!" the Doctor cried as they headed for everyones faces.

~.~

A big explosion blew the doors apart and a small tangerine rolled into the room followed by various colourful slinkies and toy robots.

They could see Santa dismounting Rudolph, "Whoa, whoa! Ah! Good boy. "He walked into the room followed by two elves, one with a balloon toy and one with an air gun. "Well, now. What seems to be the problem?" he asked, "This is the North Pole. We don't want any trouble here." Rudolph snorted outside, "Hey, Rudolph." he turned to the reindeer and pressed a button, flashing Rudolph's nose and sounding a car beep, "Easy, son. Oi! Sleepy heads! It's Christmas Eve, early to bed." He clapped his hands and the four Sleepers got back into the beds.

"Who the hell are you?" the woman in charge demanded.

"Oh, take a guess." The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Go on, push the boat out."

"Tooth Fairy?" Star offered suggestions, "Or maybe the Easter Bunny?"  
"Shut your mouth, wise guy, or you get yours." The elf with a balloon toy warned.

"It's a balloon animal." The other elf pointed out.  
"That's a toy gun."  
"Yeah, well, at least it's unsuitable for children under four. Parts small enough to swallow, so watch out."

"Yeah, well I have a proper, sharp dagger." Star smirked, pulling it out, "and I can do this." She popped the balloon.

"Oi!" the elf frowned, "you can't do that."  
"Well, I just did."  
"Now, this is ridiculous." The captain scoffed, "Am I, am I dreaming?"  
"Oh, very good." The Doctor snapped his fingers at her.

"I need to know exactly who you are, and what's happening here."  
"Hello, Ashley." Santa smiled, moving her gun that was pointing at him aside, "Lead scientist on a polar expedition. Oh, that microscope really paid off, didn't it? Now, your mum and dad wanted me to get you a toy one, but sometimes, I take a chance."

"Who are you?" the woman, Ashley, asked, "Why are you dressed like…that?"  
"Why do you think?"  
"Come on, this is mental." The blonde scoffed, "This is totally not happening."  
"I got three words, Shona. Don't make me use 'em." Santa turned to her.  
"What three words?"  
"My. Little. Pony."  
"Shut up, you."  
"Yeah? I've got lots more, babe."  
"I will mark you, Santa." She held her hands up in a clawing motion.  
"Okay, Doctor, are you going to explain?" Clara turned to him, "What is going on?"  
"It's an invasion, Miss Oswald." Santa turned to her.  
"An invasion of what, elves?"

"Clara," Star began, leaning over the woman's shoulder, placing her hands firmly on her shoulders, "I have ever told you how much I love you."

"Not in this regeneration."

"Well don't expect me too anytime soon." She moved her hands back.

Clara blinked at her. She didn't know Stars new regeneration but she hadn't ben expecting her to say that. she didn't know whether she was joking or not.  
"Whoa! That is racist." The first elf cried at Clara's words.  
"Elfist!" the second agreed.

"Yeah. Which is a bit hypocritical, from someone of your height."

"Hey!" Star glared, "you don't insult Clara while im around."

"Thank you, Star." She smiled at how the girl was still defending her.

"That's my job."

Her smile faltered slightly. She really should have seen that coming. The girl gave of a vibe that she enjoyed insulting people.  
Santa turned to Rudolph and pulled out a large, clear specimen container from the saddle. Holding it out to show a crab-like rock, similar to what was on the four other people faces. "Huh? You seen them before, Doctor? I doubt you have Star."

"What makes you think I don't." she crossed her arms.  
"I've heard of them." The Doctor murmured, cutting Star off before she got into a serious argument with 'Santa Claus.'  
"The Kantrofarri." Santa nodded.  
"Colloquially known as the Dream Crabs."  
"Yeah. Depending on how many of those are already on Earth, the human race may well have seen its last day. So, are we going to stand about arguing about whether I'm real or not, or are we going to get busy saving Christmas?"  
"Oh, ho, ho! Santa goes badass!" one elf laughed.  
"He's giving me the feels." The second nodded his agreement.  
"Shut up." Santa turned to them, irritated, "That's a, that's a verbal warning. Please, stop it."

"Is it dead?" Clara asked as they stood in the labatory, the Dream Crab on the table before them. She, the Doctor, Star and Ashley looking at it while the others interrogated 'Santa' and his 'elves'.

"I don't know." The Doctor answered, "Possibly."

"Or dormant." Star stated, thinking about how the half face robot droid had been dormant in Victorian London.  
"I'm assuming extra-terrestrial." Ashley guessed.  
"Oh, definitely." The Doctor nodded.  
"Then how can you have heard of these things?"  
"Guess."  
"Because you're extra-terrestrial, too."  
"Do you believe that?"

Ashley nodded, "Why's it called a Dream Crab, for a start?"  
"Theorise."  
"Because it generates a telepathic field."  
"And?"  
"Alters perception."  
"Meaning?"  
"I seem to be doing all the work here."

"If you don't know just say." Star muttered.  
"Meaning we can't trust anything that we see or hear." Clara finished.  
"Go to the window." The Doctor ordered Ashley lightly.  
"Why?" she frowned.  
"Because it gets worse."

Ashley slowly walked over to the window, looking out into the snow, seeing the TARDIS in the distance, "What is that?"  
"That's how Clara, Star and I got here."  
"In a box?"

"Technically, in a telephone kiosk."  
"How?"  
"Because it's a spaceship in disguise. You know what the big problem is in telling fantasy and reality apart?"  
"What?"

"They're both ridiculous."

"So we don't know what is real and what isn't?" Clara asked.  
"Exactly." The Doctor nodded.  
"Are we in danger?"

"We're in danger everyday." Star remarked. "even crossing the road is dangerous or taking a dip in the pool," she glanced up to see the human glaring at her, "don't look at me like that, I've done nothing wrong...yet."  
"We are well way past danger, Clara." The Doctor added, "If I'm right, and I usually am, we're dying."  
"Then how do we stay alive?" Ashley inquired.

"I like you." the Doctor glanced at the woman.

"I don't."

"Star; quiet. Straight to the point. I want you to show me how you first encountered those creatures, and what happened to those people in the infirmary. I notice you all wear mini-cams, so I assume that there is footage."  
"Is it possible I'm about to work with someone who might be a dream?"  
"If it helps, so are we."  
"We have footage on the drives. I'll see what I can pull up."  
"Ashley, what's this polar base for? Why are you all here?"  
"It's a long story." She offered before turning and leaving.

"What you said about Danny." Clara spoke after a moment, "Unacceptable."  
"It worked, didn't it?" Star countered.

"You never told us he was dead." The Doctor defended, "You said he made it back."  
"Well, I lied." She turned to Star, "you knew I lied."

"I wanted to know how long it would take you until you told us." She shrugged, "You made it obvious. Danny wasn't there with you when we went our separate ways."

"That's why I lied," Clara sighed, "So you'd go home to Gallifrey instead of fussing about me."  
"We lied, never found Gallifrey."

"We lied, so you'd stay with Danny." The Doctor added.

"See this is what makes us such a perfectly little family. We lie to each other for each other."  
Clara nodded at that, "So we're dying, then?"  
"Yes." The Doctor nodded.  
"Why?"  
"Oh, complicated."  
"How long do we have?"

"No idea."  
"Just give me something to do."  
"Trust nothing, trust no one." Star stated, "Accept nothing you see. Whatever happens, interrogate everything."  
"In case it's a lie."  
"In case it's a lie." The Doctor repeated.

"It doesn't help that I don't know Star's regeneration." She needed time to get to know her, just like she did with the Doctor. She didn't know who Star was, it had only been a short time and she could tell Star was just so different from last time. She had a lot more darker vibe to herself this time. It was certainly different to see Star all in black leather considering she was so used to seeing her in bright colours.

"I'm your worst nightmare." Star winked. "Or…your best dream." she walked off, moving to the control room with the others following to see the man eating a turkey leg, the older woman examinating some equipment and the blonde, Shona, integrating Santa Claus.

"Reindeers can't fly," the woman was arguing, "they just cant."

"No." Santa agreed, "No, they can't. It's a scientific impossibility. That is why I feed mine magic carrots."  
"You all right?" the Doctor asked.  
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah." Shona nodded, "I'm trying to talk sense into er, Beardy-Weirdy."  
"You don't seem much like a scientist."  
"That's a bit rude, coming from a magician."

"He was hoping for minimalism" Star informed the woman.

"And what were you hoping for? Goth?"

Star flared her nostrils out, "I. AM. NOT. GOTH. One more person…just one more person…and I swear…"

"Swear what?" Clara looked at her, just curious at her reaction, but all she got was a death glare.  
"Why are you out here?" the doctor shook his head, "What brought you to the North Pole?"  
"Long story, isn't it?" Shona glanced at him.  
"You missed the killer question."  
"Sorry, what?"  
"Beardy-Weirdy."  
"Yeah?" Santa turned to him.

"How do you get all the presents in the sleigh?"  
"It's bigger on the inside."  
"Ooh!" the elves laughed at the Doctor sour face.  
"Doctor?" Ashley called.

They headed over to where Ashley stood by the controls. Star casted a disgusted look at the male scientist, as he gnawed on a turkey. "Dude, seriously?"

"Sorry," he apologised seeing her face, "starving."

"What am I looking at?" the Doctor frowned at the monitor saying Headcam: Carter.  
"Footage from a week ago." The older woman said, "A side expedition from our main mission."

"And…what is your main mission?" Star wondered, they had never said, always said….  
"Long story. Ice cave directly beneath this base. Now, look at what we found." The monitor showed a cluster of Dream Crabs hanging amongst icicles. "Dormant at first."

"Until you looked at them too long." The Doctor nodded, "Till you thought about them."  
"Exactly."  
"Sleeping. Probably been down there for centuries."  
"And it wakes up when you think about it?" Clara asked.  
"They can detect their own mental picture in any nearby mind."  
"That's Bellows' theory." Ashley agreed.  
"It's like it responds to the presence of any data concerning itself."  
"Oh. That was always the legend." The Doctor remarked, remember hearing about them, "You think about a Dream Crab, a Dream Crab is coming for you."  
"This is where it gets really nasty." The man called.  
"Only now?" Clara looked back at him.

On the monitor a Dream Crab descended onto the camera and it went static.  
"Then what happened?" Star frowned.

The older woman switched the image to the infirmary, with them putting the people into bed.  
"They're a bit like Face huggers, aren't they?" the man asked, still eating his drumstick.  
"Face huggers?" the Doctor turned to him, frowning in confusion.  
"You know, Alien. The horror movie, Alien."  
Both Star and the Doctor stared at him, "There's a horror movie called Alien? Where you make it so the aliens are the bad guys? That's really offensive. No wonder Earth's always invaded."

"First, they just slept." The older woman, Bellows, continued, "Couple of days, just lying there."  
"And then they became aggressive." The Doctor followed.  
"If we got close enough, yeah." Ashley agreed.  
"It would take the Dream Crab a little while to take control. Depends how much of the host brain was."  
"Was what?"  
"Digested."  
"Are they still alive under those things?"  
"Depends what you call alive."  
"Are they suffering?"  
"No. No, no. no, no, no. The Dream Crab induces a dream state. Keeps you happy and relaxed, in a perfectly realised dream world, as you dissolve. Merciful, I suppose."  
"Compared to what?" the man frowned.  
"Compared to that turkey leg you keep eating." Star grumbled,

"Could you rewind for me?" the Doctor leaned closer to the screen, "I'd like to see them dormant again. Clara, could you fetch me the dead one?"  
"Maybe I could fetch you a cup of tea while I'm at it." she countered.  
"Ooh. Yes, and a punch in the face, too."  
"My very next suggestion."  
"Fair enough." He shrugged as she left the room.

"Clara!" Star suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Ashley jumped at the sudden loud noise from the girl who had been quite quiet while they were all talking, besides the need for bitter remarks and insults.  
And without another word Star took off with the Doctor close behind her.

~.~

When they reached the lab, Clara was lying on the ground, the Dream crab on her face.

"Clara!" Star called to her, taking her hand, hoping she would be able to hear her in her dream, "Clara, listen to me, you are dying! Clara, I know you can hear me. Very clever people are still listening when they are dreaming. CLARA!"

"Clara, you're dreaming." The Doctor took her other hand, "You're dying. Can you hear me? Clara?"  
"We did try to waken the others. No stimulus worked." Ashley informed them.  
"We kill it." Star deadpanned, "We find a way to kill it and we get it off of her. How do we kill it? I want it dead." Nothing tried to kill people she liked and got away with it.

"There's no way to kill it without killing your friend, too. And as a scientist, may I just say, I don't like the way you're talking."

"Well, I really don't care!"  
"Santa." The Doctor whirled around to the man as he stood with his elves, "In the infirmary, you told the Sleepers to go to bed, and they obeyed you."  
"Sorry, doesn't mean I can get that creature off her." He commented.  
"No, but you can get back in there unharmed."  
"What?" Shona shook her head, "You're asking Santa for help? He doesn't exist."  
"That doesn't matter." Star countered, "You might not exist."  
"I can commit several million housebreaks in one night dressed in a red suit with jingle bells, so of course I can get back into the infirmary." Santa remarked.  
"Good." The Doctor nodded, "Because there is only one way that I can communicate with Clara."

~.~

Star sat on the ground by Clara's side, her hands in hers as the Doctor laid next to Clara, a Dream Crab on his face. It was the only way for him to get her to wake up. He goes into her dream, tell her it's a dream, make her wake herself up.

"Have we just killed him?" Ashley asked, "Have we just made it worse?"

"If he's dead then I get his sonic and the TARDIS," Star shrugged, knowing he wouldn't die. He was too stubborn for that.  
"He thinks he can join the dream, and get her out." Santa told them, "Have a little faith."

Moments later they both gasped up, coughing as the crab fell off their faces.

"Clara?" Star lifted the woman face with the tip of her finger, making her look at her, "you're fine. You're safe. And alive."

The Dream Crabs twitched on the fall before turning to dust.

"Thanks for helping me, Star." the Doctor mock glared at her as he got himself to his feet.

She rolled her eyes as she helped Clara to her feet, "Oh stop it. Clara was in need of more help. She's weaker."

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" Clara asked weakly as Ashley picked up the pieces of carapace left from the crabs and put it in the container while Shona brushed the dust up.

"Take it however you want."  
"So these creatures," the woman began, "when their feeding goes wrong, they die?"  
"The carnivore's hazard." The Doctor nodded, "Food has teeth too. You okay?"  
Clara stood before the mirror checking for marks left by the crab, "No."  
"Good. There are some things we should never be okay about."  
"There doesn't seem to be a wound."  
"No. And the pain's still there, isn't it?"  
"Is it the ice cream pain?" Shona called, gesturing to her forehead, "Just here? Cos I've got that. "  
"It's the cold, I think." Bellows reasoned, "Some sort of reaction."  
"But only on one side, just that spot there. Doesn't that strike you as odd?" the Doctor asked them all.  
"Well, we've all got it." the man frowned.  
"Okay, so why do we all have that pain?" the woman asked.  
"Theorise." the Doctor said.  
"Don't treat me like a beginner." She glared at him, "I was dreaming, then I woke up. I know that."  
"Have you ever woken up from a dream and discovered that you're still dreaming?" Star asked, "Dreams within dreams. It is possible, especially with creatures who use our dreams against us."  
"I don't know about anybody else, but I'm pretty certain I'm awake right now." Bellows remarked.  
"But it's impossible for us to be awake."  
"I don't understand." Shona shook her head.

"I bet you don't." Star muttered under her breath.  
"Star…" the Doctor trailed, warningly.

"What…?" she mimicked.

"Behave."

"How?"

"I won't let you watch any more Disney." He threatened.

"Go ahead. Do it." she challenged.

He frowned at her. That usually worked, she'd normally go and pout and whine and he'd take it back. But this her just dared him to go ahead with his threats.

He cleared his throat and turned to the others, "Remember how we all first met, in the infirmary? We never stood a chance. How did we survive that?"  
"Well, we, we were rescued." Shona shrugged, not seeing the big deal.  
"Yeah, we were rescued. And who was it that rescued us?"

"Big old Saint Nick." Star grumbled walking off back to the control room where Santa stood on his phone.

"No, no, no, no. I need you to do the east coast right now. Well, otherwise you're going to be delivering to the islands in broad daylight. Yeah, listen. Please try and remember that our mugshots are on every Christmas card. Yeah, just get it done, head towards the northern lights. Yes, I remembered to switch them on."  
"The Helman-Ziegler test." The Doctor remarked, "The only reliable dream test that I know. Ah." he spotted four books stacked up and handed them to each crew member, "Your base manual. I take it none of you have memorised this."  
"Oh. I haven't, I haven't read it." Shona admitted.  
"These books should be identical in the real world. But as they don't exist in your memory, in a dream, they can't be. Agreed? Clara. Give me any two digit number."  
"57."  
"All right, all of you, turn to page 57 and look at the very first word. Right, when I point at you." he pointed at Ashley.  
"Isotope."  
"Well?" and Bellows.  
"Extremely."  
The man, "Inside."  
And Shona, "Chocolate. Why did I get chocolate? What's that about?"  
"This can't be right. We must have got it wrong, that's all."  
"Well, we'll do it again. Clara?"  
"24."  
"24." He nodded, pointing at them again.  
"We."  
"Are."  
"All."  
"Shona?" he looked at her as she stayed silent.  
She swallowed hard, "Dead."

"Since the attack in the infirmary, nothing has been real?" Ashley gasped.  
"The attack is still going on. This is it!" the Doctor cried, realising they were all still dreaming.  
"We've been dreaming since then?" the man gasped.  
"Oh, for Easter's sake!" Santa rolled his eyes, "Of course you've been dreaming. Haven't you been paying attention?"  
"Rudolph. Did you see the nose?" one elf said.  
"The North Pole?" the other added, "Come on, with stripes?"  
"This."

"Is."  
"A dream!" Santa and his elves said as one.

"How much more obvious do you want me to make it?" Santa rolled his eyes,, "Because I can text the Easter Bunny, you know."  
"Seriously?" Star gaped at him, "You're trying to help?"  
"As you stand here, chatting, chatting, your lives are ending. Unless you wake up, unless you free yourselves from these dreadful creatures, they're going to destroy you."  
"You're a dream who's trying to save us?" Shona frowned at him.  
"Shona, sweetheart, I'm Santa Claus. I think you just defined me."  
"This makes perfect sense." The Doctor remarked, "The Dream Crab tries to make the dream as real as possible to trap you inside it. It creates dreams within dreams so you can never be sure if you are really awake. But your brain knows something is wrong. Your subconscious fights back. This is your mind trying to tell you this isn't real."  
"So it gives you me." Santa grinned, "Sweet Papa Chrimbo."  
"It gives you comedy elves, flying reindeer." One elf added.  
"Exactly."  
"A time-travelling scientist dressed as a magician and his goth daughter."  
"Classic!" an elf chuckled.  
"Not goth." Star gritted her teeth.

"Who's a bit obsessed with a dagger." Santa continued.

"It's very special to me."  
"Living in a phone box." The other elf nodded.  
"It's a spaceship in disguise." The Doctor corrected.  
"You see how none of this makes any sense?" Santa asked them.  
"Shut up, Santa." The Doctor glared.  
"I have watched over you all your lives. I've taken care of you from Christmas to Christmas."  
"But you're not real." Bellows argued.  
"And yet that never stopped me. All of you, come near. Come here, come on. Join hands."  
"Look. No." the Doctor stepped back from the group, "Look, we don't need all this touchy-feely stuff."  
"Shut up, Doctor. Join hands. Come on, concentrate."  
Bellows hesitated, "Why?"

"You are deep inside this dream, all right, and it is a shared mental state, so it is drawing power from the multi-consciousness gestalt which has now formed telepathically and…"  
"No. No, No, no, no." the Doctor cut him off, "Line in the sand. Santa Claus does not do the scientific explanation."  
"All right. As the Doctor might say," Santa mimicked a Scottish accent, "Oh, it's all a bit dreamy-weamy."

"I don't say that."  
"Why don't you just go and make a naughty list?" Star stepped closer to Santa, silently threatening him.  
"I have, mate, and you're on it. Both of you." he looked between the Time Lords.

"Top?"

"You are the list."

She smirked, "Good."  
"Look, you're supposed to be warm and friendly and cheerful." The Doctor spoke to Santa.  
"Oh, yeah. Well, look at your great bedside manner." He countered.  
"Don't be so hostile."

"Doctor, behave." Clara called with a sigh.

"Notice how she tells you off." Star smirked at the Doctor, "not me."

"And you, Star." she added.

Honestly, she couldn't tell Star off because she didn't know the girls regeneration very well. Had only seen her for barely an hour tops before they went their separate ways. But she already knew she was very different from the sweet ginger girl she used to be. She couldn't call her gingerbread anymore.  
"This is very sweet." Ashley commented, "But right now I have an alien life form wrapped around my face, and apparently it's digesting my brain. When you speak, how do I know it's not the Dream Crab?"  
"Ooo, good question." Santa snapped his fingers at her, "Spoken like a scientist."  
"Can I put it another way? Why would the part of our brain that is trying to keep all of us alive choose you for a face?" Clara wondered.  
"Is anyone else asking that?"  
"Yeah, yeah. Yeah." Shona nodded, "All of us. All of us. Why you?"  
"Why me? It's the North Pole, it's Christmas Day. You're dying. Who you gonna call? Just one last time, huh? One last Christmas, as if your lives depended on it. Please! Ho, ho, ho. Believe in Santa."

The humans shrugged and formed a circle.  
The Doctor tried to step away from the group, "I'm not very good with this holdy-hand thing…"  
"But if you don't hold hands, then we won't wake up and the Dream Crabs will kill us." Star pouted, taking Clara hand, holding her other for him to take, "and I'll die and it'll be all your fault."

"Fine," he grumbled, taking her hand and begrudgingly take Shona's in the other. "This is very Christmassy, isn't it?"  
"Okay, so what do we..." Ashley looked over at Santa to see him and the elves gone.  
"Where did he go?" Bellows looked around the room.  
"We're waking up." the Doctor told them, "That part of the dream is over. We're on our own now."  
"Well, then. What do we do?" the man asked.  
"Make the pain worse." Star stated, "Feel that pain."  
"So when we wake up," Ashley began, "what do we expect?"  
"Only a few moments will have passed at the most." The Doctor explained, "The attack is still in progress."  
"I'm scared." Shona whispered.  
"Congratulations" Star remarked, sarcastically, "That means you're not as much of an idiot as I originally thought."  
"It's not like the last time." Clara guessed.  
"Last time wasn't real." The Doctor looked at her.  
"Good luck." Ashley looked around the circle, "Stay calm. And God bless us, every one."  
They shut their eyes, focusing on the pain…

~.~

Star gasped as she sat upright, the Dream Crabs falling from her, and the others faces as they all gasped awake. Star pulled Clara up as the four people the Crabs had latched onto before held their heads and sides, withering in pain.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted.  
"Argh!" Clara cried as one of the Sleepers grabbed her arm. She stared at the pink tube inside the Crab.

Star stabbed the arm of the Sleeper, breaking its contact on Clara allowing her to run.

The crew members pushed the Sleepers back with their guns, as ones hand stuck through so Bellows hit it with the butt of her gun, allowing them to shut the door.

"Everyone all right?" the Doctor asked the humans, who nodded, "Good. Bye." He took Stars hand and they walked off.  
"Sorry," Clara apologised to the humans, "I'll just go and…" she hurried after them.  
"No need for chatting, you'll only get attached. This isn't Facebook."

"I need to check something," Star murmured, absentmindedly rubbing her temple. The pain was still there.

"Er, what about the Dream Crabs?" Clara asked.  
"Oh, they're fine." The Doctor waved her off.  
"And the people that they're eating?"  
"Beyond help."  
"Doctor, the others are still in danger."  
"Only if they're stupid. There are polar bears on this ice cap. Am I supposed to do something about that, too?"  
"We know Dream Crabs are still on Earth."  
"There are lots of dangerous things on this funny little planet of yours, Clara, most of which you eat. Im the Doctor not your mam." He pulled out the key and opened the TARDIS doors.  
"Dad?" Star stopped, "if this is no longer the dream, then why do I still feel the ice cream pain."

He turned to her.

"Yeah," Clara agreed, "and why was Santa on my roof?"

"Because we're still dreaming, it's obvious isn't it? When you think about it."

"What?" they both looked at her.

"4 team member. 4 patients. 4 manuals." Star told them; looking at them as it they were stupid.

"Oh!" the Doctor finally realised what she meant and began to run back into the base, "Do you know what I hate about the obvious?"  
"What?" Clara called as she and Star followed him.  
"Missing it."

~.~

They ran back into the control room, on the monitors it showed that the Sleepers were back in their beds in the infirmary.

"As you were. No saluting. Are you the same people as before?"  
"No, they're the evil twins." Star rolled her eyes.  
"Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, ok." He nodded, knowing she was being sarcastic and judging by Clara face she knew it too.  
"Well, that's not a very nice attitude, is it?" Shona gaped at them.  
"4 manuals, yes?"

"Yes, why?" Ashley nodded, frowning at them. They had said they were leaving or had at least looked like they were leaving and then had come back and randomly asked about their manuals.  
"One each."  
"One each, yes." The man agreed, "What's the problem?"  
"Well, the problem is, you can't see the problem. For instance, you, gobby one." He tossed a manual at Shona.  
"I have a name, actually." She glared at him.  
"Doesn't matter. I don't need it. When we first met you in the infirmary, what were you doing?"  
"Mmm. It's a long story."  
"Uptight boss one." He threw Ashley a manual, "What is the primary mission of this polar base?"  
"It's a long story." She replied.  
"Older one." He threw a manual at the older woman, "What brings you to the North Pole at your age?"  
"It's a long…story."  
"Okay…" Clara began slowly, "why are they all giving the same answer, because that is a tiny bit freaky."  
"You think that's freaky." Star remarked, "Why did we come here?"  
"It's a long story."  
"I really hate dreams."

"Ha, ha, ha." The Doctor laughed, "They're disjointed. They're silly. They're full of gaps. But you don't notice, because the dream protects itself. Stops you asking the right questions. For example, why do you have four manuals, one each, when you have a crew of eight? Or did you forget about your friends in the infirmary here?"  
"But we woke up." the man argued.  
"Dreams within dreams," Star muttered, "We warned you."  
"This isn't a dream. I know it isn't." Bellows defended.  
"No one knows they're not dreaming, stupid." She snapped at the woman, "No one. EVER. Not for one single moment of our lives."

"Star, don't snap." The Doctor chastised, "Clara? Page number. Make it a good one."  
"12."  
Everyone opened their manuals to page 12 and read the first word.  
"Very."  
"Very."  
"Very."  
Shona swallowed, "Dead."  
"Who's gonna admit that the pains still there?" Star glared at them, daring them to speak.  
"Actually, I think it's getting worse."  
"Yes, there is an alien organism in your brain, eating it." the Doctor scoffed, "Of course it's getting worse."  
"Doctor?" Clara called as she watched the monitor, seeing the Sleepers sitting up in their beds, "What are they doing?"  
"Factually, getting up. Significantly, sensing the endgame."  
"How?"

"I don't understand." Ashley shook her head.  
"Well, look at them." He nodded to the screens, "Go on. Look at them. Look at them properly. Look who they are. They're you. The Sleepers are you."  
"How can they be us?" Shona breathed, seeing the name tags on the Sleepers.  
"Because we're dreaming, all of us. This base isn't real. None of us are actually standing in the room. I'm probably asleep in the TARDIS and Star you would have probably fallen asleep watching Disney or something. Clara, you must be in bed. God knows where the rest of you are, probably scattered all over the world. But wherever you are, the Dream Crabs have got us, and we're all being networked into the same nightmare."  
"What are they doing?" Bellows frowned as the Sleepers walked towards the cameras.  
"It's your subconscious again. The Sleepers represent the part of your mind that's already surrendered to the attack. These are dream images of what's coming to kill you.  
"That's me?" the man gasped, "That's actually me?"  
"No, it's a metaphorical construct representing a psychic attack within a shared dreamscape." Star grumbled, sarcastically, "Please try to keep up."  
"But it's me." He leaned closer to the camera.  
"Please, get as close as you can."

"Don't get to close." The Doctor warned.  
"Why?" he asked as the Sleeper version of him held up his hand to the camera.  
"Because this is a nightmare."

The Sleeper pulled its hand throw the screen and grabbed the man, pulling him through the screen.

Star pulled Clara back as she reached out to help the man, "we don't want them to get you too."

"Look out, they're coming through." The Doctor shouted as Bellows and Ashley reached out to the screens, "Out! Outside, now! Run, run, run, run! Run! Clara, run. Run, all of you run. Run!"

Star grabbed the Doctor as the Sleepers appeared into the room and he tried to stop them with a fire extinguisher. They followed the others outside; he used the sonic to lock the door.

"We'll freeze to death out here!" Bellows cried.

"Well if you want to go back inside and get killed." Star gestured back inside, "you're more than welcome."  
"But it, it's just a dream." Shona shook her head.  
"This dream just killed your friend." The Doctor said, "Start taking it seriously."

"Must be even worse in real life to kill an old friend," Star muttered, looking pointedly at the Doctor.

"What's that suppose to mean." He turned to her.

"Im just saying, it must be hard to know you killed your childhood friend."

"She killed you first!" he argued.

"How would you know?" she countered, "You weren't there."

"Stop it."  
"Where's Albert?" Shona swallowed, "Where's the professor?"

"He probably just woke up somewhere in the real world, dead." The Doctor remarked, grimly, "If we don't wake up now, we'll do the same."  
"But how?" Clara shook her head.  
"I don't know."

"The TARDIS!" the Doctor shouted as the Sleepers thumped on the base's door, "Come on! Come on!"  
"Doctor, it's not the real TARDIS." Clara pointed out.  
"Well, let's hope that Star and I dreamed it really well, then."  
"It's us." Clara breathed as she, the Doctor and Star stepped out of the TARDIS with Dream Crabs on their face.  
"Of course it's us. We're dreaming too."  
"Oh, my God." Shona gasped as more Sleepers appeared, it wasn't just them, there was dozens of them surrounding them.  
"How is that possible?" Bellows gaped, "How can there be so many?"  
"The logic of a nightmare." Star muttered,  
"So tell us how to wake up!" Shona yelled, scared, "Because you're always talking like you're so clever, going on and on. So tell us what to do!"  
"We have to leave this place." The Doctor deadpanned.  
"Leave it?"  
"How?"  
"Use your imagination."  
"Excuse me?"  
"Dream yourselves home."  
"But how?"  
"Come on, it's Christmas, the North Pole." He rolled his eyes at the woman, "Who you gonna call?"

They looked up hearing a jingle from above and saw Santa in his sleigh with his reindeers, he flew down towards them. "Whoa! Whoa. Ah. Get in the sleigh." He ordered them, they all hurried in, Clara and the humans behind Santa while the Doctor and Star squeezed besides him, "Fortunately, I know all your home addresses." He grinned and they took off into the sky.  
"So what happens now?" Clara called over the sound of the wind. "This is us just waking up, right?"  
"Could be." The Doctor agreed, "Well, I hope so."

"We could be dying." Star stated.  
"What?" she blinked.  
"Just focus on this." The Doctor turned to her, "Do you believe in Santa Claus?"  
"I've always believed in Santa Claus." Clara smiled, "But he looks a little different to me. Him and his daughter." She put her arms around them both, leaning her chin on the Doctors shoulder. "Look!" she pointed down at the Thames and the flew over the city.  
"Hey. You want to take the reins, Doctor?" Santa looked at him.  
"You're a dream construct, currently representing either my recovering or expiring mind." The Doctor deadpanned.  
"Yes, but do you want a go?"  
"Yeah. All right." He grinned, taking the reins, flying them close to St Paul's, and dangerously close to the rooftops, "Sorry, sorry, sorry."  
"Easy! This way." Santa instructed.  
"No, no, no! Oh, ho ho! Ah!"  
"Up a bit. Lift up. There we go."  
"Look at me." He beamed, as they passed the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben as it chimed midnight, "Look. Look at me! Look at me! I'm riding a sleigh. I'm riding a sleigh. Yippee ai-yay!" he stood up in his excitement, before catching himself and sat back down, "Oh. Maybe you could…" he gave the reins back to Santa.

"Well at least you can fly a sleigh just as well as the TARDIS," Star remarked.

"Oi!" he huffed, turning to her, "is that a smile?" he asked, seeing a shadow of a smile on her lips, "that is! You're smiling."

"I do smile." She defended, "…when I want to."

"I work in a shop." Shona said suddenly  
"I'm sorry?" Ashley blinked at her.  
"I thought I was a scientist. That's rubbish."  
"Finally, something that makes sense." Bellows joked.  
"You're horrible, you."  
"Perfume." Ashley said.

This time Shona blinked at her, "What?"

"I'm an account manager for perfume. Does this mean we're waking up?"  
"Possibly." The Doctor nodded, "With any luck, we'll all wake up in our proper times and places."  
"Proper times?" Clara asked.  
"Well, we could all be from different time zones. Time travel is always possible, in dreams."  
"We might not know each other?" Shona frowned, "Not any of us?"  
"No, possibly not." Ashley murmured.  
"Well, you know what we should do? We should swap numbers. We should have a reunion."  
"Bellows!" Ashley gasped, seeing the woman just vanish from where she was sat.

"She's woken up." Star called back.

"Oh."

"Er, now I'm pretty sure I can remember my number so," Shona frowned in thought, "if you memorise it, then you text me, we can go for a curry and…"  
"The chances of you remembering any of this are very slim." The Doctor explained.  
"Well, don't say that. We'll remember, won't we, Ashley? Ashley?" she looked at where the woman was sat only to see she had also woken up. "Am I next? Is it me now?"  
"Shona, you're going home." Clara smiled at her, "You're surviving."  
"Do you want to hang out sometime? We can just hang out."  
"Sure." She nodded, knowing how unlikely that would be.  
"Santa, can I stay a bit longer?" she turned to the man only to disappear herself.

"It's a pity we have to wake up, really." Clara sighed, "It's not really something we do every day, is it?"  
"No, no. Strictly once a year." Santa chuckled.  
"We stay, we die, Clara." The Doctor stated.  
"You're always such a downer, Doctor." Clara smiled.

Star rolled her eyes at them, feeling the Doctor wake up, "don't sleep in!" Star warned Clara before she herself disappeared.

~.~

"Star?" the Doctor shook her lightly as she awoke on the ledge of a volcano.

"Its still there." She grumbled, rubbing her temple.

"It is?" he frowned, before nodding; he could feel it too, "come on. Clara!"

They ran into the TARDIS and frantically piloted to Clara house, needing to get to her. She would think that they were now actually awake, they needed to warn her.

They materialised in her garden and ran up to the woman's bedroom where the woman was still in bed with a Dream Crab on her face.

"Clara, I warned you not to sleep in." Star grumbled.

"Okay, I tracked the psychic signal here." The Doctor pulled out the sonic, "I'm pretty sure that I know how to do this now. One of the advantages of actually being awake. So, you just hold still. I've just got to zap the neural centres." He flashed the sonic on the Crab.

Star pulled the Crab of Clara's face and put it into the specimen jar they brought with them.  
"The Dream Crabs must have got to me first then found you in my memory." The Doctor mused, as Clara sat up and turned on her lamp, "The others were collateral damage. Well, good to see you properly at last. How long has it been? Clara."  
"Oh, you know." Clara offered a tired smile, her hair grey and face wrinkled, "About 62 years. Doctor, I have missed you very much, my stupid uncle and very silly cousin." She laughed and pulled them into a hug,  
"Missed you, too." Star murmured, seeing her for the old woman she now was, the Doctor seeing her as she always was.

~.~

"These are Christmas hats," the Doctor remarked, handing Clara a hat as she sat at her table in her living room, "I've seen people use them. You put them on and absolutely anything seems funny."  
"Oh, probably won't work on you." Clara joked.  
"Probably not. You want to try?"  
"Go on, then." She smiled and he put the yellow paper crown on her head, "Can you really see no difference in me?"  
"Clara Oswald, you will never look any different to me." He told her honestly.

"And you Star?"

She shrugged, "being Time Lords it doesn't matter if people are young or old."

"So, how was it then?" the Doctor asked.  
"How was what?" she frowned.  
"The 62 years that we missed."  
"Oh, how was my life, you mean?"  
"Is there a Mr Clara?"  
"No. But there were plenty of proposals."  
"Im glad they all turned you down." Star smirked.  
"I turned them down." Clara lifted her chin up at that, "I travelled."

"Completed your book?" Star wondered.

"Yes. I taught in every country in Europe. I learned to fly a plane."  
"Regrets?" the Doctor asked.  
"Oh, hundreds. I just wish there were time for a few more."  
"Yeah, they're always the best part. Christmas cracker. We should do one. No one ever matched up to Danny, eh?"  
"No one else lived up to him." she sighed. "Or to you two."  
"We should do this every Christmas." The Doctor remarked softly, handing her a cracker.  
"Because every Christmas is last Christmas." Clara smiled pulling the cracker struggling with her aged bones.

Star couldn't help but see how similar it was to Trenzalore. How the Doctor had been the one to struggle with the cracker and now it was Clara.

"Here." Star held onto Clara end of the cracker and helped her pull it.  
"I'm sorry." The Doctor muttered, "I was stupid. We should have come back earlier. I wish that we had."  
"Do you, Doctor?" Santa called, "How much do you wish that?"  
"Just wake us up!" Star snapped, in no mood for any more of his games.

~.~

Once again, they awoke on the volcanoes ledge.

"Gone." Star stated, no longer feeling the ice cream pain.

"Gone." The Doctor agreed.

"Clara!" they ran back inside the TARDIS and quickly back to Clara, running straight back into her bedroom. The Doctor quickly sonicing the crab of her face.

She gasped upright, "Am I young?" she looked at the Time Lords.

"Short, Brunette with a wide wrinkle-free face." Star listed, "I'd say so."  
She let out a breath in relief, "Oh, that's good."  
"The TARDIS is outside." Star stated.  
"So?"

"So, please don't leave me with him. Alone." she nodded to the Doctor who crossed his arms, huffing.  
"All of time and all of space is sitting out there." The Doctor added, "A big blue box. Please, don't even argue."

Clara took a moment to 'consider', grinning, "Merry Christmas, Doctor." She pecked his cheek, "and you Star." she did the same with Star.  
"Merry Christmas, Oswald." Star mimicked her.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" she hoped out of bed, slipping on her shoes. "Come on!" she ran down the stairs, leaving the Time Lords to follow. "Well, look at you, all happy. That's rare." She remarked as they walked outside to the TARDIS.

"Don't get used to it." Star looked at her.  
"Do you know what's rarer?" the Doctor countered, unlocking the TARDIS, "Second chances. I never get a second chance, so what happened this time? Don't even know who to thank…" he shook his head, it didn't really matter, "what would you like for Christmas, Star?"

It was what they did, they got each other presents on the first Christmases in new regenerations or if they thought they'd like something and didn't want to wait for hopefully a few centuries.

She was silent for a while and he didn't know if she was ignoring him or thinking about what she wanted, it seemed like the latter as she finally looked up at him.

"Nothing. I have all I want."

**And that's Shooting Stars finished. I haven't decided on a name for the next series so that'll be a surprise.**

**Til next time! :)**


End file.
